This Saturday the (48-77) Detroit Tigers and the (57-67) Texas Rangers will play their second game of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 7:05 PM EST inside Globe Life Field. This is also the second series between these teams this regular season. The first time they matched up they split a four-game series.
The Detroit Tigers are coming into this one after splitting a short two-game series with the San Francisco Giants. The Tigers struggled at the plate in game one, but their bats woke up in game two. They ended up scoring six runs to close out that series.
The Texas Rangers are entering this one after splitting their two-game series with the Colorado Rockies. The Rangers exploded at the plate in the final game, as they scored 16 runs. They had everything working at the plate, as they continued to consistently score throughout that game. They will need their bats to sta y hot if they want to take down the Tigers in this one.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Detroit Tigers are 5-5 in their last 10 games played, as their average play has taken them out of the playoff race. They are also 20.0 games back from the Seattle Mariners for the third and final AL Wild Card Spot. Detroit is still in last place in the AL Central, as the Tigers are also 20.0 games back from the first-place Cleveland Guardians. At the plate, the Tigers are scoring 3.30 runs per game and they are hitting .227 as a team. This is the least amount of runs scored per game and the fourth lowest overall team batting average. They have struggled to consistently reach base, which has made it much more difficult to score. They also have very little power inside their batting lineup. The Tigers are only hitting .59 bombs per game, which is also the lowest average in the league. The Tigers have continued to struggle at the plate, as they have also consistently stranded base runners all season. Detroit has also only stolen 38 bases, as this is the fourth least amount of bases taken this regular season. They don't have a ton of speed inside of their batting lineup.
According to MLB.com, The Tigers will be starting Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound. He is currently 2-3 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. In his last start, he pitched for 5.0 innings and didn't allow an earned run against the Angels. Rodriguez has been a train wreck on the road, as well. He is currently 0-2 with a 5.30 ERA inside his opponent's ballparks. The Detroit bullpen does give me some hope, though. They are allowing 3.35 runs per game, which is the eighth lowest bullpen ERA in the MLB this season. They have done a great job of limiting their opponents once they have relieved their starter. As a team, the Tigers are allowing 4.44 runs per game, which is the 18th most runs surrendered per game.