The Detroit Tigers are slumping at the worst possible time with first place in the American League Central at stake.
The Tigers (85-69) have lost seven of their past eight games, and they got hammered by Atlanta 10-1 on Friday in the opener of the three-game series. Detroit will look to turn things around against the visiting Braves on Saturday.
“It was ugly at the beginning, it was ugly at the end and there wasn’t much to talk about in the middle,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said of the series-opening rout. “Makes for a long night.”
The second-place Cleveland Guardians (82-71) won their eighth consecutive game on Friday to pull within 2 1/2 games of the Tigers.
“It’s very obvious where we are in the season and what’s at stake and the struggles we’ve had,” Hinch said. “I don’t think it matters if it’s getting tough or whether or not we can flush it. The reality is, the next game comes and that one is equally to more important than the previous one.”
Meanwhile, the Braves (71-83) continued their late-season surge, winning their six straight game, the longest active streak in the National League.
The Tigers will face an old friend in the middle game of the series. Left-hander Joey Wentz (5-6, 5.56 ERA) pitched for the Tigers from 2022-24, making 38 relief appearances for them last season.
He pitched in relief for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins this season before winding up as a starter in 11 of 12 appearances with the Braves. He is 3-5 with a 4.75 ERA since joining Atlanta.
Wentz hasn’t recorded an out in the fifth inning in any of his three September starts. In his latest outing, he gave up two runs and six hits in four innings against the Houston Astros on Sunday.
Earlier this year with the Twins, Wentz faced the Tigers in relief and gave up three runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Detroit’s Saturday starter, Keider Montero (5-3, 4.32 ERA), is coming off one of his best outings of the season. He tossed five innings in a 2-0 win against Miami on Sunday, limiting the Marlins to three hits and no walks while striking out five.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect that many pitches,” Montero said through an interpreter after throwing 76 pitches, his top total this month. “That’s why I was on top of the hitters and attacking the zone early. Knowing, too, that they are very aggressive hitters and I took advantage of that.”
His pinpoint control allowed him to keep the Marlins hitters guessing.
“The good version of Keider establishes the strike zone,” Hinch said. “And when he does, he’s got a lot of pitches that hitters have to cover.”
Montero will be facing the Braves for the first time.
Atlanta has been scoring runs in bunches during its hot streak, averaging 8.2 runs per game, and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim has been a big part of it. He was one of three Braves to hit a two-run home run on Friday.
Kim extended his season-best hitting streak to seven games, during which he is batting .423 (11-for-26). He was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays at the beginning of the month, and the Braves might look to retain him beyond this season.
“We looked at potential free agents at the deadline that we thought we might have interest in signing,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Kim could be a potential free agent, but we have potential interest in him to keep him beyond ’25. So there’s value in having him in our clubhouse.”
–Field Level Media
