The Detroit Tigers will visit the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, marking the start of the 2023 MLB season. 25-year-old lefty Shane McClanahan (12-8, 2.54 ERA, and 0.93 WHIP in 2022) will get the Opening Day start for the home team, while 29-year-old left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (5-5, 4.05 ERA, 1.33 WHIP in 2022) will take the mound for the visitors.
First pitch will be at 3:10 p.m. ET. The Rays are heavy favorites (-230 ML and -1.5 runs) and the total is 7.0 runs scored. Tampa Bay defeated Detroit in five of seven meetings last season, outscoring the Tigers by 16 runs (35-19).
The Tigers should be more competitive than they were in 2022 but will it matter to Detroit fans? It will come down to the team's young hitters to excel in '23, as the organization's upper brass opted for talent evaluation over suitable solutions in the off-season.
Detroit has shown promise over the last two seasons but not enough to make an impression. The team's most promising youngsters, Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson, should take a few steps forward if Detroit hopes to be a capable club in the coming seasons. The new, power-friendly dimensions of Comerica Park should enable the 23-year-old Torkelson to produce more but it will take more than that to prove he wasn't called up to the bigs too early. Greene is the team's most-likely star, with middle-of-the-order potential and a good glove in center field.
Comerica Park ??
Riley Greene keeps attacking the strike zone, driving in Matt Vierling on a 2-2 pitch.#Tigers | @Marygrovawnings pic.twitter.com/X6a9LwXFAH
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) March 22, 2023
As for Thursday's Opening Day starting pitcher, Detroit needs the veteran lefty Rodriguez to stay healthy and be a leader in the clubhouse. He only pitched in 17 games in 2022 and was roughed up in the first month of the season before taking a leave of absence in mid-May. That instability, along with his falling velocity, is certainly troublesome for a player Detroit believed in enough to ink to a five-year, $77 million contract.
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