After dropping two of three to the Cubs this week the Tigers now turn to the ALC basement dwellers.
The Detroit Tigers head to the south side of the Windy City this weekend to take on the Chicago White Sox for a four-game series this weekend after dropping two of three in the north side to the Chicago Cubs this week.
The Motor City Kitties are still within striking distance of the .500 mark, sitting four losses below the midpoint. A sweep of their bitter American League Central rivals would be sweet for many reasons, including a return to respectability and a leg up on a strong finish to the season.
The ChiSox have only three wins in their last 10 tries and have failed to earn a series victory this month. However, the demoralized franchise still has some fight left in them and hopefully they will not catch the Tigers by surprise in Guaranteed Rate Park these next four days.
Below is a look at half of the upcoming pitching matchups, with our favorite player TBD once again appearing among the starters.
Detroit Tigers (62-66) at Chicago White Sox (31-97)
Times (ET): Fri: 8:10 p.m.; Sat: 7:10 p.m.; Sun: 2:10 p.m.; Mon: 8:10 p.m.
Place: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, Illinois
SB Nation Site: South Side Sox
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV
, Tigers Radio Network
Game 129: RHP Keider Montero (4-5, 5.28 ERA) vs RHP Chris Flexen (2-12, 5.46 ERA)
Montero
Baseball Savant
Flexen
Baseball Savant
Game 130: LHP Tarik Skubal (14-4, 2.49 ERA) vs LHP Ky Bush (0-2, 3.68 ERA)
Skubal
Baseball Savant
Bush
Baseball Savant
Game 131: TBD vs RHP Jonathan Cannon (2-7, 4.26 ERA)
Baseball Savant
Game 132: TBD vs RHP Davis Martin (0-2, 3.22 ERA)
Baseball Savant
Series Outlook: A must-sweep matchup
This weekend represents as good as any chance for Detroit to gain some ground as the season quickly wanes. The good news is that the Tigers practically own the Sox this summer, sweeping the season-opening three-game series in Chicago before taking two of three in Detroit back in June.
So how bad is Chicago this season? The South Siders currently rank last in OPS (.621) and runs scored (398) on offense while ranking 29th in ERA (4.80) and WHIP (1.43) and sitting at 26th in batting average against (.254). Not great, Bob!
Long story short: the Tigers absolutely have to win this series — if not sweep — but it might be easier said than done.