Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins Series Preview

Detroit: The Tigers are still trying to get healthy. One of last year’s key contributors, J.D. Martinez, is still rehabbing a foot sprain suffered in mid-March. Good news for the Tigers is that he looks to do some on-field running this weekend after taking batting practice for the first time this month in Tampa.

Better news for Minnesota is that he’s not expected to be activated off the disabled list during the weekend series. Meanwhile, Justin Upton has been day-to-day with an injured wrist, but appears set for the series versus the Twins.

Offense: Hitting and scoring isn’t Detroit’s problem. Pitching and fielding are. The Tigers already have lost four games this season in which they’ve scored five or more runs. They’ve scored five or more in eight of their fifteen games this season.

Conversely, the Twins have scored five or more runs five times – winning all five games. They have scored a total of 15 runs in their eight losses. Detroit has no one player (like Miguel Sano) dominating their offense, but they are balanced.

Even Ian Kinsler, who is struggling to a career-low average (.217), still has 13 walks for a .400 OBP and leads the Tigers in runs scored (11), HR’s (3), and his aforementioned on base percentage.

Player to Watch: Miguel Cabrera. The venerable All-Star first basemen was in a terrible funk the last time these two teams met.

His average hovered near .100 ten days ago. In the final game (an 11-5 Twins blowout win) of the series, he banged his first home run, collecting his first RBI.

Since, he’s hit two more homers, raised his batting average 125 points, and driven in eight more runs.

Cabrera getting on track will help the offense score enough runs to counteract their MLB-worst 5.30 team ERA until they can hopefully regroup.

Pitching: After Justin Verlander having to remake himself after he could no longer touch 98-100 mph due to a body core injury suffered during the 2014 season (surgery in off-season) and suffering his first injury to send him to the disabled list as a big leaguer in 2015 (right triceps).

But he’s bounced back, to be sure. After years of declining strikeout totals, Verlander struck out 254 batters in 2016, more than he had in his Cy Young/MVP season of 2011.

As baseball experts awaited Michael Fulmer to ascend to ace status for the Tigers, Verlander battled to keep the title. Fulmer tried to wrest the crown away with a 9-2 start last season, on his way to Rookie of the Year. He settled down to finish 11-7 with an ERA that didn’t get above three after June 1st until the season’s final day (3.06).

Unfortunately, it’s early in the season, and limited pitch counts on starters have the bullpen in ballgames early on, especially if the starters are having control issues.

Ausmus is beginning to loathe the walk to the mound to pull any of his starters, as his bullpen has been horrid so far in 2017. A slightly high 4.43 starters’ ERA is compounded by the relievers’ 6.85 – including Anabel Sanchez’s 11.00 ERA in four outings, covering nine total innings.

You think Joe Mauer‘s contract is an albatross hanging over the Twins’ front office? Sanchez is in the last year of a five-year contract that is paying him $16 million to be a long reliever, usually used in mop-up duty. He earned the same last year as the fifth starter with a 5.87 ERA.

Pitcher to Watch: Matthew Boyd. The third-year lefty starter is quickly making a name for himself this season.

After a short start to begin the season, he threw six one-hit innings of shutout ball against the Twins in their matchup on April 11th to out-duel Hector Santiago for his first win of the season.

Last time out, against Cleveland, he pitched another six innings, allowing just a run, to get the win over Danny Salazar.

Look for the Twins to mix up their lineup against Boyd this time out. Well, as much as they can, anyway – given they only have three bench players. Hopefully, Molitor is able to stack some right handed bats against Boyd the second time out.

Twins: Molitor used the same lineup two games in a row for the first time all season in the final two games against the Indians. It didn’t end up scoring the Twins more runs, but he’s hoping consistency in the lineup will begin to allow guys to find their place, and hopefully start getting better results because of it.

Regarding getting an extra bat for late-inning matchups, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch tweeted this nugget:

With 13 pitchers and just three bench players, Molitor is handcuffed in tight ballgames. With so few power options to pinch-hit in close games for someone who is struggling (Byron Buxton, for example), the Twins find the hill climb in a comeback nearly insurmountable with the weapons available.

Next: Can Byron Buxton Be Saved?

Notes: While every team in the division is between 8-7 and 7-8, technically the Tigers lead the A.L. Central, and the Twins are in last. The Tigers have the 29th-ranked run scoring differential at -21, while the Twins lead the division with a +10.