Cleveland @ Detroit preview
Comerica Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 21, 2010 ) Cleveland 2, Detroit 5
The Cleveland Indians started the drought that ended the Detroit Tigers’ playoff hopes. Perhaps a sweep would help ease some of the pain.
The Tigers will be looking to complete their revenge when they close out a three-game set with the Indians on Sunday.
Just one-half game out of first place in the American League Central at the All-Star break, Detroit saw its hopes begin to fade when they dropped four straight to the lowly Indians to begin the second half.
That embarrassment turned into a 4-13 finish to July and snowballed into a 6-12 start to August that eliminated any hopes the Tigers had of sticking with the Minnesota Twins atop the division into September.
But Detroit has looked great so far against Cleveland this time around, winning the first game on Friday behind seven strong innings from Armando Galarraga and getting another strong performance from Max Scherzer in Saturday’s 5-2 triumph.
The strong pitching has been a boost for a team that entered the series having allowed 26 runs in three straight losses to the New York Yankees earlier in the week.
Getting the call today for the Tigers will be ace Justin Verlander. The 27-year-old right-hander is just 1-3 over his last five starts due in part to Detroit’s struggling offense, which has averaged just over two runs per start during that span.
The Tigers put two runs on the board against the New York Yankees on Tuesday while Verlander allowed three in five innings to suffer the loss.
The Indians and their weak attack will be a welcome change for Verlander, who has faced Tampa Bay twice and New York, Boston and the Los Angeles Angels once each in his last five outings. While the Rays, Yankees and Red Sox make up the top three in the AL in offense, Cleveland sits 13th in the circuit with a .248 team batting average.
Verlander has had his struggles against them, however, facing the Indians three times this season without a great deal of success. He has surrendered a total of 12 runs in 17 innings, going 1-0, and is 9-10 overall in his career against the division rivals with a 5.35 ERA in 22 starts.
Cleveland will counter with another of their young projects, right-hander Jeanmar Gomez. One of many rookies looking to prove himself during the Indians’ lost season, Gomez has been terrific in five starts, allowing two runs or less in each.
The 22-year-old made his major league debut against the Tigers on July 18, yielding two runs - none earned - and five hits while striking out four in seven innings to earn the win.