The Detroit Tigers are currently 4-3 heading into today’s Grapefruit League matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jack Flaherty will take the ball in that one and on Sunday Matt Manning will get the start against the New York Yankees who beat the Tigers 22-10 last Saturday to kick off Grapefruit League play. The Lineup for today’s game is:
CF – Parker Meadows
RF – Zach McKinstry
DH – Riley Greene
1B – Spencer Torkelson
2B – Colt Keith
SS – Javier Baez
LF – Bligh Madris
3B – Andy Ibanez
C – Carson Kelly
Reports From Lakeland
Mason Englert
Englert’s only chance to make the Tigers roster this spring is “Throw hard and improve his dang fastball”. Last season he made his debut with the Tigers appearing in 31 games going 4-3 with a 5.46 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 56 innings. So far this spring he has appeared in two games and he’s pitched 4.2 innings giving up three runs on three hits; he’s walked two and struck out five, he struggled against the Yankees in that 22-10 game but bounced back nicely with 2.2 shutout innings against the Pirates on Wednesday.
Wenceel Perez
Perez has been shifted to the outfield by the Tigers because “he can really hit”. Perez spent last season with Single-A Lakeland, Double-A Erie, and Triple-A Toledo and in 116 games he slashed .274/.368/.417 with a .784 OPS; he had 25 doubles, six triples, nine home runs, 48 RBI, 89 runs scored, 26 stolen bases, and 63 walks. This spring he has played in five games and is hitting .429 with a 1.413 OPS; he has one home run, one RBI, three runs scored, and two walks.
Opening Day
Tarik Skubal has been tabbed as the Opening Day starter for the Tigers. He will be the tenth different Opening Day starter for the Tigers since 2004; they’ve had Jason Johnson in 2004, Jeremy Bonderman in 2005, Kenny Rogers in 2006, Justin Verlander in 2008-2014 and 2016-2017, David Price in 2015, Jordan Zimmerman in 2018-2019, Matthew Boyd in 2020-2021, Eduardo Rodriguez in 2022-2023, and now Skubal. Skubal said yesterday “I don’t really care about labels, to be honest, I’m more focused on winning ball games, being the starter game one of the playoffs is a little more special.” Skubal was the pitcher of the month for September last season when he went 4-0 in five starts with a 0.90 ERA, a 0.60 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts in 30 innings to close out 2023. He ended the 2023 season overall making 15 starts going 7-3 with a 2.80 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and 102 strikeouts in 80.1 innings. So far this spring he has made one start going two innings, he didn’t give up a run, or a hit; he walked one and struck out two against the Pirates on Wednesday. His next start is not yet known.
