The Detroit Tigers need to find a way to win without Cabrera this weekend
By Ash Thompson
The Seattle Mariners come to Comerica Park for a three-game slate this weekend. The Detroit Tigers need to figure out a way to get their bats going if they hope to stop their current skid.
The Detroit Tigers are third in the AL Central Division and only three games back. The season has been surprisingly competitive. At least it was before the injury bug decimated the team. The Tigers are 2-5 in their last seven games, and they have six players on the disabled list. None of those players comes even close to matching the impact of veteran first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Without Cabrera, the batting order looks limp.
The Tigers begin a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners this tonight. First baseman John Hicks has not been the team’s biggest problem. He has the same number of home runs as, Cabrera, in 32 fewer at bats. Cabrera, however, is hitting .323 on the season and Hicks .246. Where that shows up most prominently is the scoreboard. Hicks has only nine RBI compared to Cabrera’s 21. The Tigers need a better performance with runners on base if they have any hope of halting this skid.
The AL Central doesn’t look all that great to start the year. The leaders, The Cleveland Indians, are only a .500 team 36 games into the year. The Minnesota Twins are 15-18 and 1.5 games back of the Indians. The Tigers have been a surprisingly effective squad. Everyone assumed that this was going to be a very disappointing season. To avoid turning that expectation into reality, the Tigers need to start taking games from good teams at home.
The Seattle Mariners are 21-15 going into tonight’s game. They are also third in their division, but the AL West is significantly better than the Central. The Tigers can not simply roll over and take three losses. They are on the brink of losing the season entirely. The Mariners are 11th in overall run production. The Tigers are 16th but sliding. They have had either run support or quality pitching, seemingly never both.
The pitching matchup will be the Tigers Matthew Boyd (1-3 3.0 ERA) vs the Mariners Marco Gonzales (3-2, 5.19 ERA) tonight. Saturday will feature the Tigers Michael Fulmer (1-2, 3.51 ERA) vs. the Mariners Felix Hernandez (4-3, 5.28 ERA). Sunday’s game will be Blaine Hardy‘s first major league start. He faces off against the Mariners James Paxton (2-1, 3.40 ERA). Hardy has pitched well in relief on his way to earning a shot at starting. Sunday’s game at Comerica Park should be interesting for that reason alone.
Next: Red Wings 2018 draft prospect: Evan Bouchard
The Detroit Tigers are broken and reeling right now, but they need to figure out a way to get their bats going. Left fielder, Cristin Stewart’s performance (.309, 7 HR, 21RBI) for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens might mean that help is on the way long term, but the Tigers need to get rolling with what they have this weekend.