A pair of American League teams looking to the future finish up a weekend set between the chalked lines in the Lone Star State. The Detroit Tigers are on the road as they finish off a three-game series with the Texas Rangers Sunday afternoon. In the opening game of the series Friday night, Texas jumped out early and hung on for a 7-6 triumph to draw first blood. Will the Tigers find a way to win on getaway day or will the Rangers pick up a series victory by defending their home field? This article was published prior to the conclusion of the middle game of the set at Globe Life Field Saturday night.
Detroit had won three of their previous four games before falling in the opening game of this series Friday night. The Tigers entered Saturday last in the AL Central, 19 games behind the Guardians for the top spot in the division. They were a distant 21 games behind the Blue Jays and Mariners, who were tied for the final two wild card spots, in the AL playoff picture. On Friday night, Riley Greene (three runs, four RBI) had three hits while the rest of the team was a combined four of 30 in the contest. Greene hit his fifth homer of the year while also tripling and singling yet It wasn’t enough. Tyler Alexander (3-8) took the loss as he allowed seven runs on eight hits with one walk and three strikeouts over three innings of work.
Drew Hutchison takes the hill for his 22nd appearance and 12th start of the season for the Tigers in this contest. He comes in 1-7 with a 4.06 ERA, a 1.451 WHIP, 31 walks and 45 strikeouts over 71 innings of work on the season. Hutchison took the loss in his last start, which came Tuesday at home against the Giants. He threw five innings, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts in a game the Tigers lost by a 3-1 count. In his last three starts, Hutchison is 0-2 with a 2.93 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP, four walks and 10 strikeouts over 15.1 innings of work. Hutchison makes his fifth career start against the Rangers. He is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA, a 1.026 WHIP, eight walks and 20 strikeouts over 25.1 innings of work against them. Hutchison, in his 129th career major league appearance and 94th start, pitches at Globe Life Field for the first time here.