Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers Clicking on All Cylinders Entering Wednesday’s Matchup vs. Angels
The Detroit Tigers are the hottest team in baseball. Riding a five-game winning streak, there isn’t another franchise in the league that has been doing more winning than them recently.
The Tigers swept a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox and kept the momentum going in their series opener against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. They won 6-2, as they are currently clicking on all cylinders.
Detroit is receiving contributions from several arms on the pitching staff beyond Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal. Last night, it was Brant Hurter who fired five strong innings, surrendering only two runs.
He was backed by a lineup that has come to life in recent weeks as the young players on the team are emerging.
Jake Rogers, Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter all hit home runs in support of Hurter. Matt Vierling provided support with an RBI double, with the sixth run being knocked in courtesy of a Carpenter single.
That victory put the Tigers over the .500 mark. It is the first time since 2016 that they are above the .500 mark after the All-Star break.
They will be looking to run their winning streak to six games on Wednesday, as Mason Englert will be taking the mound. Used in relief for 11 appearances, this will be his first start of the season.
Manager A.J. Hinch has been masterfully navigating a shortage of starting pitchers by deploying several openers each turn through the rotation. That looks to be Englert’s job tonight, as Kenta Maeda could be in line to eat up innings behind him.
Opposing Englert on the mound for the Angels is Griffin Canning. He is making his 27th appearance of the season and 26th start. 2024 has been a struggle for him, as he is 4-11 with a 5.18 ERA across 139 innings.
The long ball has hurt Griffin throughout the campaign, as he has given up 24 home runs. That is bad news going up against a red-hot Tigers lineup that has been crushing the ball as of late.
Even with an opener taking the mount, Detroit is a sizable favorite tonight. They are listed at -165, which has an implied probability of 62.1 percent chance to win. Los Angeles is a +138 underdog with an implied probability of 42 percent chance to win.
The over/under for runs scored is set at nine, as we could see some offense once again at Comerica Park.