2022 Series Poll: Houston Astros @ Detroit Tigers

Quick Notes

The Tigers are currently winding down a season best left forgotten, which has been the theme of most of their seasons in recent years. In spite of annual predictions of improvements and dark horse commentary, Detroit has had trouble building any sort of success over the course of a full year in recent memory.

That’s not to say that there haven’t been bright spots amongst the darkness, of course. The Tigers have brought up a few exciting prospects that factor into their future and, of course, there has been the occasional milestone from Miguel Cabrera. But, overall, there just hasn’t been much to cheer about in Motor City lately.

Kerry Carpenter, who made his debut just this year, has the best stats of any Tiger across the whole of the 2022 season, but he’s only had 69 AB’s all season so it’s hardly a large body of work. If you want someone who’s played in a majority of the game, the player with the best stats is probably catcher Eric Haase, but his .750 OPS isn’t really anything to write home about and is just another example of how anemic the Tigers’ offense has been.

You can expect to see some combination of Gregory Soto, Joe Jimenez, and Andrew Chafin in high leverage roles during this series. While their numbers may not be all the way in the elite category, these three relievers have done a decent job. Soto, who is the primary closer, has successfully converted 25 of his 27 save opportunities, which is definitely what you want for that role.

As for starters, the Astros can expect to see Eduardo Rodriguez, Drew Hutchison, and Joey Wentz this week. All three have ERA’s hovering around 4.00 just to give you an idea of what they’ve been doing so far this season. Although, when I say “this season” that’s not really much for Wentz, who has only logged 13.1 IP in 2022 after making his MLB debut earlier this year.

Offensive Stats: YTD, Last 7 Days

Pitching Stats: YTD, Last 7 Days

Last 10 Games: 4-6 Record, 1 Series Win, 2 Series Loss, -19 Run Differential (36 scored, 55 allowed)

W/L Splits: 30-40 at home, 24-46 on the road, 23-45 against teams over .500

Injured List: Austin Meadows: 60-Day IL (mental health), Miguel Cabrera: 10-Day IL (biceps), Rony Garcia: 60-Day IL (biceps), Tarik Skubal: 60-Day IL (arm), Beau Brieske: 60-Day IL (forearm), Casey Mize: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kyle Funkhouser: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Spencer Turnbull: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jake Rogers: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Starters

Game 1: Framber Valdez (LHP, 14-5, 2.64 ERA, 161 K’s) vs Eduardo Rodriguez (LHP, 3-4, 4.13 ERA, 50 K’s)

Game 2: Hunter Brown (RHP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 K’s) vs Drew Hutchison (RHP, 2-7, 4.08 ERA, 56 K’s)

Game 3: Cristian Javier (RHP, 8-9, 3.01 ERA, 165 K’s) vs Joey Wentz (LHP, 1-1, 4.05 ERA, 10 K’s)

For Your Viewing and Listening Pleasure

Game 1: Monday, September 12th @ 5:40 pm CDT
Listen: Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KTRH 740 AM/99.1 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010 / Tigers - WXYT 97.1 FM
Watch: Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW / Tigers - Bally Sports Detroit / MLB Network (out-of-market only)

Game 2: Tuesday, September 13th @ 5:40 pm CDT
Listen: Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KTRH 740 AM/99.1 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010 / Tigers - WXYT 97.1 FM
Watch: Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW / Tigers - Bally Sports Detroit

Game 3: Wednesday, September 14th @ 12:10 pm CDT
Listen: Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KTRH 740 AM/99.1 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010 / Tigers - WXYT 97.1 FM
Watch: Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW / Tigers - Bally Sports Detroit / MLB Network (out-of-market only)