Detroit @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 27, 2010 ) Detroit 3, Cleveland 6
The Detroit Tigers will be without MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera as they play the first game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on Wednesday.
Cabrera suffered a sprained ankle as he was coming back to first base on a pickoff attempt in the seventh inning of Monday’s 6-3 loss to Cleveland.
He appeared to roll over on his right ankle just as his foot hit the bag and went down in a heap. Cabrera limped off the field and was wearing a walking boot before Tuesday’s scheduled game was rained out.
The first baseman wants to play in at least one of the team’s remaining six games, but manager Jim Leyland isn’t expecting to have him back anytime soon.
Cabrera leads the bigs with 126 RBIs, is tied for second in the American League with 38 home runs and is third with a .328 batting average. Cabrera has struggled at Progressive Field all year with a .217 average, but has four home runs and eight RBIs in his last eight games.
The Tigers (80-76) will send Max Scherzer (12-10, 3.40 ERA) to the mound in the first game of the double feature. Scherzer is coming off a dominant performance against the Kansas City Royals in which he threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits in a 4-2 win while striking out eight.
He owns a 1.93 ERA over his last 11 starts, giving up more than two runs only twice in that span. Scherzer hasn’t lost a game against a divisional rival since his last outing in Cleveland on July 16, when he gave up four runs over five innings.
The Detroit starter could have his work cut out for him again today as the Indians have put up 24 runs over a four-game winning streak. Cleveland (66-91), which averages fewer than four runs per game this season, hit three home runs in a five-run fifth inning to secure Monday’s win.
The Indians will give the ball to right-hander Mitch Talbot (9-13, 4.61 ERA), who looks to avoid a third consecutive loss.
Talbot left his Sept. 12 start in the first inning with inflammation in his throwing shoulder after giving up three runs on 14 pitches while failing to record an out. He returned to the rotation Thursday, allowing three runs over five innings in a 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Talbot is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA over three starts against Detroit this season.