An impressive power display and some overpowering pitching are putting the Detroit Tigers in position for a sweep at Yankee Stadium.
After jumping to big leads early in the first two contests of the three-game set, the Tigers will attempt to complete a series sweep Wednesday afternoon when they visit the New York Yankees, who are on a six-game losing streak.
Detroit is seeking its first sweep at Yankee Stadium since 2008 — the year before the Yankees moved into their current stadium. The Tigers have outscored the Yankees 16-6 in the first two games and have 22 hits after losing five of their previous six contests.
“We know what we’re capable of, and we’re getting a lot of guys back, and when we’re being led by pitching like that, it’s pretty awesome,” Detroit’s Kerry Carpenter said. “We feel great, and we’re confident, and we’re just going to keep rolling. When we keep doing stuff like this to really good teams, then it’s like we can beat anybody on any night. We just have to go do it.”
The Tigers are 9-4 in their past 13 games against the Yankees after following Monday’s 7-3 win with a 9-3 victory on Tuesday. Riley Greene is batting .294 in his past nine games and hit two of Detroit’s five homers Tuesday when he connected in consecutive at-bats off Cam Schlittler.
Carpenter is hitting .368 in his past five games and hit a home run, and Spencer Torkelson and James Outman also homered. Detroit went deep five times for the fourth time this season, and each instance has been since May 31.
“We definitely have some swagger about us right now, especially offensively,” Detroit starting pitcher Tarik Skubal said after allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit in six innings.
The Yankees will attempt to avoid their first seven-game skid since dropping nine straight from Aug. 12-22, 2023. New York is batting .127 during its six-game slide and .170 during its stretch of 10 losses in 13 games.
“Bottom line is we got to do a better job offensively,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
The Yankees have not produced more than four hits in five straight games. Ben Rice homered on Tuesday but is in an 8-for-51 slide, and Cody Bellinger, who was given the day off, has five hits in his past 41 at-bats.
“It hasn’t been easy,” Rice said. “We’re not exactly doing our best right now, and hopefully we can come out of it soon.”
After stellar showings by Casey Mize and Skubal in the first two games of the series, right-hander Troy Melton (4-1, 2.39 ERA) will start for Detroit on Wednesday. Melton has allowed only one run in four of his six starts but took a tough loss when he permitted a run on two hits in six innings during a 2-1 defeat to the Houston Astros on Thursday.
Melton will start against the Yankees for the first time. He pitched two innings in Detroit’s 11-1 rout at New York on Sept. 10.
Right-hander Will Warren (7-3, 3.75 ERA), who is 0-2 with a 5.49 ERA in his past four starts, will start for New York on Wednesday. Warren has allowed 16 runs on 27 hits during the stretch, including five runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings during Friday’s 6-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park,
Warren will face Detroit for the second time. He took a no-decision in a 12-2 loss on Sept. 9 in New York when he allowed two runs on two hits in six innings.
-Field Level Media
