Detroit Tigers vs. Houston Astros 3-game series preview at Comerica Park

The Detroit Tigers return to Comerica Park on Friday after an unsuccessful road trip that saw them get swept by the New York Yankees and then lose two of three to the Cleveland Guardians. Now, AJ Hinch’s team is preparing for a six-game homestand that begins Friday night against the Houston Astros.

The recent losing streak has dropped the Olde English D to fourth in the American League Central Division despite playing above .500 – if you can believe it – with the Guardians in control, followed by the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals who are tied. 1.5 games back. Compare that to the AL West, where the Astros are the eight-game cellar dwellers of the reigning World Series champions, the Texas Rangers.

Take a look below at the pitching matchups scheduled for this weekend, including a visit from an old friend from Detroit’s golden era.

Detroit Tigers (19-18) against. Houston Astros (13-24)

Time setting): Friday: 6:10 p.m.; SATURDAY: 6:15 p.m.; Sunday: 1:40 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation website: Crayfish boxes
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 38: RHP Casey Mize (1-1, 3.98 ERA) vs. LHP Framber Valdez (1-1, 3.97 ERA)

Mize’s comeback campaign went pretty well until his final outing against the Yankees. The 27-year-old had done pretty well in terms of overall run suppression in his first five starts – all of which were team wins – but he was tagged for five runs on nine hits (one home run) and one walked while striking out six. road to loss. Some of the right-hander’s peripherals don’t look too hot, with expected batting average (23rd), average exit velocity (11th), chase percentage (19th), chase percentage (19th), whiff percentage (21st) and hard hit percentage (15th). ) all at or below the 23rd percentile in the majors.

Valdez’s seventh big league campaign hit an early obstacle as he suffered elbow soreness after his second start of the season – which remains his best outing thus far. The 30-year-old’s two starts since returning from the injured list have been very disappointing, combining for seven runs allowed on 14 hits (two home runs) and one walk while striking out nine of 10. ¹⁄₃ frames. The lefty’s average exit velocity (6th percentile) and extension (7th percentile) are among the worst in baseball.

Game 39: LHP Tarik Skubal (4-0, 1.90 ERA) vs. RHP Cristian Javier (2-0, 1.54 ERA)

Skubal continues his monstrous campaign on Saturday as he continues to prove that he is truly an elite ace. Which elite? A picture is worth a thousand words for the 27-year-old.

Baseball scholar

Javier has put together some pretty neat numbers entering his fifth season in the major leagues. In addition to his ERA (for which the FIP raises a red flag), his WHIP (1.11) and his home runs per nine innings (0.4), the 27-year-old has recorded quality starts in two of his four total appearances going seven innings. , two-point effort against the Rangers last week for the win. Another feather in the right-hander’s cap is his hard-hit percentage, which ranks in the 5th percentile among his MLB peers, as does his off-speed run value.

Game 40: RHP Jack Flaherty (0-2, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (1-1, 4.43 ERA)

Flaherty’s re-emergence has been a boon for the Tigers early on, with the eight-year veteran putting up some of his best numbers since 2021. The 28-year-old has been a real workhorse, throwing at least six frames in all but one of his seven starts – four of which were quality. Additionally, the right-hander’s whiff percentage (97th percentile), strikeout percentage (94th percentile), and walk percentage (94th percentile) are all among the best among the bigs; his breaking ball run value also sits in the 97th percentile.

Verlander is just two years removed from his 2022 Cy Young Award-winning campaign, but the wear and tear of the job has left him just a shell of his peak form in 2024. Not that the 41-year-old can’t can’t go out and give his team a solid effort — after all, two of his four outings this year have been quality starts — but the future Hall of Famer can’t run out of bats anymore. Former Tiger’s whiff percentage (9th percentile), strikeout percentage (13th percentile), barrel percentage (5th percentile), ground ball percentage (3rd percentile), and extension ( 12th percentile) all paint a bleak picture.

Outlook Series: Hit ‘Em When They’re Down

This is another winnable series for the Tigers and after a tough road trip, they really need to take advantage of a team that has struggled to pick up wins. The problem is that the Astros have a pretty potent offense, ranking seventh in the majors in OPS (.735) and home runs (44). Houston’s pitchers, on the other hand, are among the worst, 28th in ERA (5.00), 29th in WHIP (1.48) and 26th in batting average against (0.260). This weekend is as good a chance as any for Detroit’s offense to find a spark as fans can expect fireworks.