12-7 YTD
Detroit Tigers -135
We have an inter-divisional matchup between rivals who are heading in the opposite direction. The Tigers are winners of 7 of their last 10 and a game and a half out of first place with the White Sox. While the Twinkies winners of 4 of their last 10 already 9 games behind first. The 4 most recent wins are against the likes of KC (3 times) and Seattle at home.
The Twins are having a hard time to score runs this season. The Twins only have 2 guys in their lineup that is batting over .300 for the season (Stewart and Castillo) and of their last 7 games, they only have 1 guy batting over .300 (Castillo). The Tigers, on the other hand, have 4 guys batting over .300 for the season, and 6 guys batting well over .300 in their last 7 games.
The Tigers are sending left-handed Rogers to the mound tonight where the Twinkies have been hitting an abysmal .197 against lefties. Rogers is 4-2 in the season and have been very solid and consistent for the Tigers. Other than the 5-run game in Arlington, he has given up 3 runs or less, averaging 1-2 runs per game in about 7-8 innings of work per game. The most recent outing was against these very Twinkies where blanked them over 8 innings and only allowed 2 hits. Talk about dominance. In his last 10 starts against the Twins, the Tigers are 6-4 against them. In 8 of those 10 starts, he has held them to 3 runs or less averaging about 6-7 innings. He has blanked them 4 times and 3 of those came in his last 4 starts against them. There is a very good probability that he will have a similar performance tonight against the Twins as their bats haven/t had any success against him. Only 2 bats of the Twins regular lineup bats over .300 against him; White who is struggling this season with a 0.144 batting average and 0.118, and Punto who’ve only had 3 at bats against Rogers and is batting at .233 for the season. Everyone else in the lineup is batting well under .300 against him and about half the lineup bats .200 or lower against him.
It would be nice for Rogers to blank them again and go deep into the game but even if he doesn’t go deep, the Tigers are covered as their pen have been stellar so far this season. Their pen has a season ERA of 2.96 and a WHIP of 1.06 and lately their numbers have been even better. Of the 7 guys they have in the pen, only 2 of them have given up a run in their respective last 3 appearances.
The Twins counter with Lohse who 1-2 for the season with an 8.77 ERA. Surprisingly though, the Twins are 3-2 in his starts this season. Of his 5 starts this season, 3 of those starts he has yielded 6+ ERs and one of those 3 games was against the Tigers. The other 2 starts were very good but it was against a very bad KC batting team and against a then struggling Oakland team. He has done well in the past against the Tigers where the Twins have gone 6-4 in his last 10 starts against them. However, in his last 7 starts against them, he has given up 4+ ERs in 5 of those games going about 5-6 innings each game. The Tigers love to face Lohse as 8 of the 11 bats that the Tigers regularly use are batting over .300 against him. More importantly, the #1-6 guys of the Tigers lineup all bat over 300 against him. I don’t see how Lohse can have an easy inning as this matchup doesn’t work well for him. There’s talks about him losing his starting job to Liriano and if Liriano hadn’t got tagged by the Tigers in their last meeting, we probably would’ve seen the change. However, Lohse has gotta be nervous.
Historically, he has shown that he can’t go past 6 innings and have been averaging about 5-6 innings a game. Unfortunately, there’s no relief for the Twins there, literally. The Twins were notoriously known for a solid bullpen and this season their pen has not lived to their reputation. Of all the guys they have available to use tonight, all of them have given up at least an ER in their respective last 3 appearances. 3 of the 5 guys available have given up 4 runs or more in their respective last 3 appearances. Only their closer Nathan have been lights out this season and I honestly think they will not be in a save situation tonight. Rincon has also been good but he went last night. Depending on the score, they may or may not use him.
The Twins are clearly outmatched in this matchup. They are beat in all categories: bats, starting pitching and bullpen. Unless, Lohse somehow figures out a way to throw a gem tonight and keep the Twins close, I don’t see how the Twins can win this tonight. I like the Tigers tonight in an easy win!
Detroit Tigers -135
We have an inter-divisional matchup between rivals who are heading in the opposite direction. The Tigers are winners of 7 of their last 10 and a game and a half out of first place with the White Sox. While the Twinkies winners of 4 of their last 10 already 9 games behind first. The 4 most recent wins are against the likes of KC (3 times) and Seattle at home.
The Twins are having a hard time to score runs this season. The Twins only have 2 guys in their lineup that is batting over .300 for the season (Stewart and Castillo) and of their last 7 games, they only have 1 guy batting over .300 (Castillo). The Tigers, on the other hand, have 4 guys batting over .300 for the season, and 6 guys batting well over .300 in their last 7 games.
The Tigers are sending left-handed Rogers to the mound tonight where the Twinkies have been hitting an abysmal .197 against lefties. Rogers is 4-2 in the season and have been very solid and consistent for the Tigers. Other than the 5-run game in Arlington, he has given up 3 runs or less, averaging 1-2 runs per game in about 7-8 innings of work per game. The most recent outing was against these very Twinkies where blanked them over 8 innings and only allowed 2 hits. Talk about dominance. In his last 10 starts against the Twins, the Tigers are 6-4 against them. In 8 of those 10 starts, he has held them to 3 runs or less averaging about 6-7 innings. He has blanked them 4 times and 3 of those came in his last 4 starts against them. There is a very good probability that he will have a similar performance tonight against the Twins as their bats haven/t had any success against him. Only 2 bats of the Twins regular lineup bats over .300 against him; White who is struggling this season with a 0.144 batting average and 0.118, and Punto who’ve only had 3 at bats against Rogers and is batting at .233 for the season. Everyone else in the lineup is batting well under .300 against him and about half the lineup bats .200 or lower against him.
It would be nice for Rogers to blank them again and go deep into the game but even if he doesn’t go deep, the Tigers are covered as their pen have been stellar so far this season. Their pen has a season ERA of 2.96 and a WHIP of 1.06 and lately their numbers have been even better. Of the 7 guys they have in the pen, only 2 of them have given up a run in their respective last 3 appearances.
The Twins counter with Lohse who 1-2 for the season with an 8.77 ERA. Surprisingly though, the Twins are 3-2 in his starts this season. Of his 5 starts this season, 3 of those starts he has yielded 6+ ERs and one of those 3 games was against the Tigers. The other 2 starts were very good but it was against a very bad KC batting team and against a then struggling Oakland team. He has done well in the past against the Tigers where the Twins have gone 6-4 in his last 10 starts against them. However, in his last 7 starts against them, he has given up 4+ ERs in 5 of those games going about 5-6 innings each game. The Tigers love to face Lohse as 8 of the 11 bats that the Tigers regularly use are batting over .300 against him. More importantly, the #1-6 guys of the Tigers lineup all bat over 300 against him. I don’t see how Lohse can have an easy inning as this matchup doesn’t work well for him. There’s talks about him losing his starting job to Liriano and if Liriano hadn’t got tagged by the Tigers in their last meeting, we probably would’ve seen the change. However, Lohse has gotta be nervous.
Historically, he has shown that he can’t go past 6 innings and have been averaging about 5-6 innings a game. Unfortunately, there’s no relief for the Twins there, literally. The Twins were notoriously known for a solid bullpen and this season their pen has not lived to their reputation. Of all the guys they have available to use tonight, all of them have given up at least an ER in their respective last 3 appearances. 3 of the 5 guys available have given up 4 runs or more in their respective last 3 appearances. Only their closer Nathan have been lights out this season and I honestly think they will not be in a save situation tonight. Rincon has also been good but he went last night. Depending on the score, they may or may not use him.
The Twins are clearly outmatched in this matchup. They are beat in all categories: bats, starting pitching and bullpen. Unless, Lohse somehow figures out a way to throw a gem tonight and keep the Twins close, I don’t see how the Twins can win this tonight. I like the Tigers tonight in an easy win!
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