Detroit @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 8, 2014 ) Detroit 2, LA Dodgers 3

Catcher A.J. Ellis won’t be available, but outfielder Yasiel Puig could return Wednesday when the Los Angeles Dodgers conclude a two-game set against the visiting Detroit Tigers. While Ellis had knee surgery Tuesday and will miss the next 4-6 weeks, Puig is hoping to get back in the lineup after missing the last two games with a strained left thumb ligament. Los Angeles won both games without Puig, including Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Tigers on Carl Crawford’s RBI double in the 10th inning.

The Tigers received a scare early in Tuesday’s game when outfielder Torii Hunter slid hard into the wall in foul territory in right field, but he apparently avoided a major injury and is listed as day-to-day with a left knee contusion. Hunter homered in each of his previous three games before leaving in the fifth inning Tuesday after going hitless in his first two at-bats. Detroit third baseman Miguel Cabrera, who signed an eight-year, $248 million contract extension before the season, is off to a quiet start with one home run and three RBIs.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FSD (Detroit), SNLA (Los Angeles)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Anibal Sanchez (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Josh Beckett (2013: 0-5, 5.19)

Sanchez was limited by inflammation in his throwing shoulder during spring training, but he pitched well in his first start last Friday against Baltimore. Last year’s American League ERA champion allowed two runs over four innings before being pulled after a 34-minute rain delay. The 30-year-old is 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA in four career starts against the Dodgers.

Beckett is set to make his first start in the majors since last May after battling thumb and ankle injuries this spring. Cabrera is 4-for-19 with two home runs against Beckett, who is 3-4 with a 3.83 ERA in nine career starts against the Tigers. The 33-year-old made a rehab start for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga last Friday and allowed three runs in the first before tossing three shutout innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Tigers have hit a home run in each of their first six games for the first time since 2004.

2. Crawford stole his 450th career base in Tuesday’s victory.

3. Detroit has lost two in a row since opening the season with four consecutive wins.

PREDICTION: Tigers 6, Dodgers 4