Game No. 104 Preview: Houston Astros at Detroit Tigers

Houston Astros (68-35) vs. Detroit Tigers (46-56), July 30, 2017, 12:10 p.m. CT

TV: AT&T SportsNet-SW
Radio: KBME 790 AM, La Nueva 94.1 FM
Online: MLB.TV
Tigers SBNation Blog: Bless You Boys

Pitching Matchup

RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (7-2, 3.67 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .323 BABIP, 2.93 xFIP) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (5-7, 4.50 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, .305 BABIP, 4.79 xFIP)

Preview

The Houston Astros aim for a series victory on Sunday against the Tigers. Houston will send out Lance McCullers Jr. in hopes of doing that.

McCullers comes in struggling since returning from the DL. He is 0-1 with an 8.53 ERA in his last four outings. He has allowed 18 earned runs and 30 hits in 19 innings.

McCullers is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two career starts against the Tigers. That includes one start in 2017, in which McCullers pitched five scoreless innings.

Only one active Tiger has an extra-base hit against McCullers, James McCann. McCann is 1-for-3 with a double. Miguel Cabrera and Jose Iglesias are 2-for-4 in their career against McCullers. Nick Castellanos is 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

Justin Verlander could be making his final start as a Tiger on Sunday. Verlander is 0-3 with a 4.60 ERA in five starts during the month of July. But Verlander has three quality starts during that stretch.

Verlander is 4-0 with a 2.83 ERA in eight career starts against the Astros.

Two of the Astros strongest batter against Verlander are out with injuries: Carlos Correa (5x10) and George Springer (5x13). Jose Altuve is 7-for-13 against Verlander and Nori Aoki is 8-for-23.