Series Preview: Detroit Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 4/8-4/9

The Detroit Tigers will hit the road again to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates for a short two-game series. The Tigers are coming off a series loss to the A’s while the Pirates are coming off a series win over the Orioles.

Detroit Tigers (6-3) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (8-2)

Game 1:

Date: Monday, April 8
Time: 6:40 pm EST
Broadcast: Bally Sports Detroit

Game 2:

Date: Tuesday, April 9
Time: 12:35 pm EST
Broadcast: Bally Sports Detroit

Probable Starting Pitchers

Game 1: Reese Olson (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Mitch Keller (0-1, 6.55 ERA)

Olson gets the ball first in this short series making his second start, in his first start against the Mets he went 5.2 innings, he didn’t allow a run on three hits; he walked two and struck out three. He has never faced the Pirates in his career. Keller will get the ball for Pittsburgh making his third start of the season, through his first two starts he is 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA, a 4.39 FIP, a 1.72 WHIP, and eight strikeouts in 11 innings. In his last start, he faced the Nationals going 5.1 innings giving up five runs, four earned runs, on eight hits; he walked two and struck out five taking the loss. In his career against the Tigers, he’s made four starts going 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts in 21 innings.

Game 2: Casey Mize (0-0, 6.23 ERA) vs. Martin Perez (1-0, 2.45 ERA)

Mize will get the ball for the finale making his second start, in his first start he went 4.1 innings giving up three earned runs on five hits; he walked two and struck out four. He has never faced the Pirates in his career. Perez will get the ball for the Pirates making his second start of the season, his last start came against the Nationals going 6.2 innings giving up two runs on six hits; he walked two and struck out six. This season he is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA, a 4.32 FIP, a 1.54 WHIP, and eight strikeouts in 11 innings. In his career against the Tigers, he is 2-5 in 13 appearances with a 6.13 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP, and 54 strikeouts in 61.2 innings.

Tigers vs. Pirates Leaders

Tigers:

AVG – Colt Keith – .214
HR – Riley Greene – 3
RBI – Carson Kelly – 5
IP – Tarik Skubal – 12.1
ERA – Reese Olson – 0.00
K – Tarik Skubal – 15

Pirates:

AVG – Michael A. Taylor – .429
HR – Oneil Cruz – 2
RBI – Bryan Reynolds – 9
IP – Jared Jones – 11.2
ERA – Marco Gonzales – 2.45
K – Jared Jones – 17

Tigers vs. Pirates Numbers

Tigers

AVG: .209 (26)
OPS: .623 (25)
R: 29 (27)
HR: 9 (16)
ERA: 2.99 (7)
K: 82 (14)
WHIP: 1.07 (3)

Pirates

AVG: .266 (6)                       
OPS:  .754 (7)
R: 59 (4)
HR: 9 (16)
ERA: 3.60 (10)
K: 86 (12)
WHIP: 1.09 (5)

Wrap Up

The Detroit Tigers have struggled to start the season offensively. Entering the season the pitching wasn’t an issue, especially with the depth but the offense and out-of-the-gates especially as of late it hasn’t been good. They will face a Pirates team that once again is off to a solid start, they need to find a way to come out of this with at worst a series split.