The Detroit Tigers escaped Southern California this week with a three-run victory over the San Diego Padres, which came on a ninth-inning grand slam by Parker Meadows on Thursday night. Otherwise, the Olde English D played its opponents tough, but the Pads are a playoff team.
The pendulum is now swinging for AJ Hinch and Co., who head to Northern California this weekend to face the low-performing Oakland Athletics. The A’s host the Tigers at the Oakland Coliseum, leaving them in fourth place in the American League West, 14 games behind the leading Houston Astros and far from a chance at the postseason.
Detroit, meanwhile, is also in fourth place in the AL Central, 9.5 games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians, and is tied with the Seattle Mariners at five games out of the wild-card spot. The clock is ticking this season, so if the Tigers want a shot at the playoffs, now is the time to give it their all.
Below are this weekend’s pitcher pairings, with each team bringing in a player to be determined, as is season-ending tradition.
Detroit Tigers (71-70) at Oakland Athletics (61-80)
Times (ET): Fri: 21:40 o’clock; So: 16:07 o’clock; Sun: 16:07
Location: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
SB Nation website: Athletics nation
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 142 Pitching Duel
| player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Skubal | 168.1 | 30.3 | 5.0 | 2.61 | 5.0 |
| Spencer | 126.0 | 19.6 | 7.7 | 4.22 | 1.1 |
Game 142: LHP Tarik Skubal (16-4, 2.51 ERA) vs. RHP Mitch Spence (7-9, 4.50 ERA)
Skubal
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Spencer
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Baseball Expert
Game 143 Pitching Duel
| player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Hurter | 27.2 | 23.6 | 2.7 | 3.04 | 0.5 |
| To be announced | – | – | – | – | – |
Game 143: LHP Brant Hurter (3-1, 3.25 ERA) vs. TBD
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Baseball Expert
Game 144 Pitching Duel
| player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| To be announced | – | – | – | – | – |
| gin | 14.2 | 25.9 | 8.6 | 4.14 | 0.1 |
Game 144: To be announced against RHP JT Ginn (0-0, 4.30 ERA)
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Baseball Expert
Series outlook: A series we have to win … again
This is a series the Tigers must win if they want to be in contention in October. The A’s just tied a four-game series with the Mariners, but they’ve lost momentum after two losses, while Detroit was buoyed by Meadows’ magnificent salami on Thursday night.
Overall, Oakland ranks 18th in OPS (.704) and 25th in runs scored (575) on offense. The pitchers rank 25th in ERA (4.37) and WHIP (1.32) and 24th in batting average against (.250).
On the other hand, the Motor City Kitties rank 24th in offensive OPS (.684) and 21st in runs scored (591), while they rank fifth in ERA (3.74), second in WHIP (1.19) and sixth in batting average against (.236) on the mound.
