Tampa Bay Rays (6-8) vs Detroit Tigers (8-4)
Rays Pregame:
After a 1-6 road trip last week, the Rays return home Tuesday night to face the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, Michael Fulmer (1-0; 2.25). Making his third start of the season, Matt Andriese (0-0; 4.50) goes for the Rays.
It goes without saying that this team is not happy about the results of the seven-game road trip. After being swept by the Yankees, they then lost three-of-four to the Red Sox. Despite the recent struggles, manager Kevin Cash addressed the recent struggles, but was optimistic before the game.
“Obviously we were not accepting of the way the road trip went but we’ll bounce back. We left here with a really good feeling and I’m confident that the guys are gonna come back with a good feeling, that we perform well here at home. We just have to pick up where we left off.”
In five appearances against the Tigers (one start), Andriese is 1-1 with a 5.73 ERA. It’s worth noting that in his first two starts, Derek Norris and Jesus Sucre each caught one of them. Tonight, Norris gets the start. Norris is clearly the better offensive catcher, but Andriese pitched better when paired with Sucre.
Steven Souza Jr has been the most consistent member of the offense. He currently sits Top 10 in the majors in HR – RBI – H – BB – OBP – and BA (w RISP). Although the team has struggled recently, all 10 of his RBI have come in the last 10 games.
In 2016, the Tigers dominated the head-to-head matchup (6-1) and did not lose (4-0) at Tropicana Field.
Tonight’s Lineup: #Rays #Tigers pic.twitter.com/pbTJpeLz4s
— The Scrum Sports (@TheScrumSports) April 18, 2017
Tigers Pregame:
The key for Detroit will be Fulmer. If he can continue upon his dominance of the Rays, the Tigers should be in good shape. Last season, he pitched twice against the Rays, both wins, and both outstanding outings.
In his two starts, Fulmer posted quite an impressive line of 14 IP – 6 H – 1ER – 2 BB – 21 K.
Yes, thats correct – 21 strikeouts.
Fulmer has only given up three hits to guys that are currently on the Rays roster. Corey Dickerson, Evan Longoria, and Logan Morrison each have one.
Offensively, the Tigers have a number of weapons at their disposal. The least of which may be catcher Alex Avila. However, the Tigers backstop has homered in back-to-back games. Four of the big names to watch for Detroit are Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Ian Kinsler, and Justin Upton. They’ve posted some impressive numbers against the Rays.
Cabrera: .304 BA – 17 HR – 45 RBI in 299 at-bats
Martinez: .349 BA – 14 HR – 66 RBI in 327 at-bats
Kinsler: 17 HR – 39 RBI in 311 at-bats
Upton: .344 BA in 32 at-bats
Start a pot of coffee!
Each team ranks Top 5 in overall time-of-game. DET (3:18:25) TB (3:14:09).
Misc. Pregame:
- Mikie Mahtook returns to Tropicana Field for the first time as a visitor.
- Colby Rasmus and Matt Duffy participated in field activities today and Cash confirmed that there is “no time-table” on their return but he did go on to say that both of them appear to be “in a good spot” at this point.
Waiting for Duffman. pic.twitter.com/0kzEEVrv4t
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 18, 2017
