The Detroit Tigers are hoping the third time’s the charm early in the season.
After failing in their two previous attempts to sweep a three-game series, Detroit will attempt to do so Sunday at home against the Miami Marlins in a battle between former Cy Young Award winners.
Detroit lost at San Diego after winning the first two games on the road to start the season, and repeated that at home last weekend against St. Louis after taking the first two games.
The Tigers put themselves in this position thanks to a three-run homer and an RBI single from Riley Greene in a 6-1 victory Saturday. It was Detroit’s second straight win after dropping five in a row, and the team improved to 4-1 at Comerica Park.
The Marlins helped the Tigers out by going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving at least one runner on base in every inning except the eighth.
The victory was the 400th for Detroit manager A.J. Hinch, who joined Cincinnati’s Terry Francona (Red Sox, Guardians) as the only two active skippers to win 400 games with two teams. Hinch won 481 games as Houston’s manager.
“I have an incredible job in an incredible city,” he said. “I do respect how long it takes to pile up a number of things like that. But it’s not about me. It’s about the staff around me and the group that we get to go to battle with. I’m very fortunate to be in this position.”
More importantly for Hinch, however, was getting back on track after stumbling to a 4-9 start.
“We celebrated a series win and just getting back on track for our guys,” Hinch said.
Greene is not one of the Tigers to succumb to a slow start. The home run may have been his first in 60 at-bats, but the two-time All-Star has reached base safely in all 15 games, the longest Detroit streak to start the season since Brandon Inge reached in the first 24 games of 2009.
Now, Detroit will look to sweep the series behind its ace, lefty Tarik Skubal, who will make his first home start after three road outings.
The two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner has lost two straight starts. Although he is 1-2, Skubal has a 2.55 ERA and 16 strikeouts to just two walks.
He’ll oppose 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, who is off to a hot start. He is 2-0 with a minuscule 0.74 ERA and 0.58 WHIP with 18 strikeouts to just four walks.
Alcantara has allowed just 10 hits and two earned runs in 24 1/3 innings and owns the major’s lone shutout this season.
–Field Level Media
