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After surviving the 18 games in 17 days meat grinder to start the second half with a 10-8 record the Guardians take the short flight to Detroit for a three-game series against the last place Tigers. The Tigers have not been good recently, starting the second half with a 5-12 record. These teams will play seven games in the next nine days, including a doubleheader in Cleveland a week from today.
However, the Tigers have been competitive at home with a 26-30 record. The Guardians are 27-30 on the road so in Tiger Stadium this is a series between two evenly matched teams.
The Guardians are 1-6 this year in Tiger Stadium and have been outscored 39-18. Their only win was an 8-1 game in May pitched by Bieber. In their six losses they’ve been outscored 34-14. It’s been ugly. Most recently the G’s were swept in four games from July 4-6 by at 28-10 score.
The Tigers are dead last in the majors in scoring at 3.22 runs per game. They are worse at home, batting .211/.577 and averaging a paltry 2.75 runs per game. But against the Guardians they are averaging 5.6 runs per game at home versus 2.3 against everybody else. The Guardians simply have not pitched well in Tiger Stadium.
The main culprit has been the bullpen. Hentges has a 13.50 ERA against Detroit; Stephan is at 6.75, Karinchak 9.00, and Sandlin 9.00. The starters have been fine except for Pilkington (4.91). We need the bullpen to step up this series.
The Kitties are also last in home runs per game (the Guardians are third from last). We may not see a home run this series. The Tigers are 29th in on-base percentage and 30th in slugging percentage. They don’t get on base and they don’t hit for power, except at home against us. Since the All-Star break their wRC+ is 75.
Their pitching staff ranks 20th in team ERA and 19th in WHIP. Below average but not bad. They are very good at preventing home runs, ranking 6th. Don’t look for a lot of long balls by the G’s this weekend. They’ll have to string hits together.
Post All-Star the Tigers’ team ERA is 3.52 against a season number of 4.05. They’ve been better lately. This could be a low scoring series. The G’s only scored 14 runs in their six losses in this building in 2022.
At least the pitching matchup in the opener favors the G’s. Shane Bieber takes on 28-year-old lefty Tyler Alexander (2-5, 4.04). Alexander’s career mark is 7-16, 4.11. He’s started six games this year out of 16 appearances. In his starts opponents are hitting .279/.807 against him. He’s been much more effective in relief. In two appearances against the Guardians he’s allowed one run in 4.1 innings. He won't go more than five innings.
Alexander has been solid at home with an ERA of 3.57. He’s very good out of the windup; opponents are batting .200 with nobody on base. But with runners on its .355, with RISP .385, and with RISP and two out its .480 (12-for-25). Obviously the key is to get men on base. He's night and day.
Andres Gimenez is 3-for-3 against him with two home runs. Hosey is 4-for-12. Hedgie is 2-for-3 with a home run.
Bieber is making his fourth start this season against the Tigers with mixed results. They got five runs off him in the last series in Detroit. However, he is on a small roll having allowed just three earned runs in his last two starts. Current Tiger players are hitting a combined .205 against him.
Aaron Civale makes his comeback tomorrow, making his first appearance in nearly four weeks. They picked a good team for his first game back - last in scoring and playing in a big ballpark. We’ll have some speed in the outfield to help him out.
However, the Tigers have been competitive at home with a 26-30 record. The Guardians are 27-30 on the road so in Tiger Stadium this is a series between two evenly matched teams.
The Guardians are 1-6 this year in Tiger Stadium and have been outscored 39-18. Their only win was an 8-1 game in May pitched by Bieber. In their six losses they’ve been outscored 34-14. It’s been ugly. Most recently the G’s were swept in four games from July 4-6 by at 28-10 score.
The Tigers are dead last in the majors in scoring at 3.22 runs per game. They are worse at home, batting .211/.577 and averaging a paltry 2.75 runs per game. But against the Guardians they are averaging 5.6 runs per game at home versus 2.3 against everybody else. The Guardians simply have not pitched well in Tiger Stadium.
The main culprit has been the bullpen. Hentges has a 13.50 ERA against Detroit; Stephan is at 6.75, Karinchak 9.00, and Sandlin 9.00. The starters have been fine except for Pilkington (4.91). We need the bullpen to step up this series.
The Kitties are also last in home runs per game (the Guardians are third from last). We may not see a home run this series. The Tigers are 29th in on-base percentage and 30th in slugging percentage. They don’t get on base and they don’t hit for power, except at home against us. Since the All-Star break their wRC+ is 75.
Their pitching staff ranks 20th in team ERA and 19th in WHIP. Below average but not bad. They are very good at preventing home runs, ranking 6th. Don’t look for a lot of long balls by the G’s this weekend. They’ll have to string hits together.
Post All-Star the Tigers’ team ERA is 3.52 against a season number of 4.05. They’ve been better lately. This could be a low scoring series. The G’s only scored 14 runs in their six losses in this building in 2022.
At least the pitching matchup in the opener favors the G’s. Shane Bieber takes on 28-year-old lefty Tyler Alexander (2-5, 4.04). Alexander’s career mark is 7-16, 4.11. He’s started six games this year out of 16 appearances. In his starts opponents are hitting .279/.807 against him. He’s been much more effective in relief. In two appearances against the Guardians he’s allowed one run in 4.1 innings. He won't go more than five innings.
Alexander has been solid at home with an ERA of 3.57. He’s very good out of the windup; opponents are batting .200 with nobody on base. But with runners on its .355, with RISP .385, and with RISP and two out its .480 (12-for-25). Obviously the key is to get men on base. He's night and day.
Andres Gimenez is 3-for-3 against him with two home runs. Hosey is 4-for-12. Hedgie is 2-for-3 with a home run.
Bieber is making his fourth start this season against the Tigers with mixed results. They got five runs off him in the last series in Detroit. However, he is on a small roll having allowed just three earned runs in his last two starts. Current Tiger players are hitting a combined .205 against him.
Aaron Civale makes his comeback tomorrow, making his first appearance in nearly four weeks. They picked a good team for his first game back - last in scoring and playing in a big ballpark. We’ll have some speed in the outfield to help him out.
