Detroit and Cincinnati will battle it out at Comerica Park starting on Friday night.
The Detroit Tigers successfully completed a brief three-game road trip against the Baltimore Orioles this week by taking two of three at Camden Yards. The series win was punctuated by a 4-1 victory on Thursday night behind a pair of home runs and another fine outing from Tarik Skubal.
Now AJ Hinch and Co. return home for a brief three-game homestand this weekend against the Cincinnati Reds . The visitors just took two of three from the Cleveland Guardians on the road after sweeping the Diamondbacks at home prior, bringing some solid momentum into town.
Meanwhile, despite winning two of their last three, the Tigers have fallen a half-game behind the New York Mets for the best record in Major League Baseball, but remain 1.5 games ahead of the third-place New York Yankees . Still, Detroit’s lead in the American League Central is a robust eight games over the Minnesota Twins and the largest margin in the sport.
Stats-wise, the Motor City Kitties are 12th in the majors in batting average (.250), in a three-way tie for 11th in on-base percentage (.320) and eighth in slugging (.406), which adds up to a 10th-ranked .726 OPS at the plate. On the mound, the team has a collective ERA of 3.22 (fourth), WHIP of 1.16 (tied for second) and batting average allowed of .229 (tied for sixth).
As of the time of publication, Detroit has not yet revealed which pitcher will take the mound to open things up on Friday night, but at least we know that Cincinnati is sending Nick Martinez to the hill. Here is what we know ahead of gametime.
Detroit Tigers (45-25) vs. Cincinnati Reds (35-34)
Time (ET): 7:10 p.m. ET
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site: Red Reporter
Media: FanDuel Sports Detroit
, MLB.TV
, Tigers Radio Network
Game 71: TBD vs. RHP Nick Martinez (4-6, 3.70 ERA)
MARTINEZ
Baseball Savant