Grayson Rodriguez (1-1, 10.61) gets the ball for the Angels opposite Jack Flaherty (0-6, 5.94). That is not a typo — between them the bullpens better be stretched. Rodriguez at least walked out of his last start with a win, going 5.2 against Texas. Flaherty is still chasing his first W of the year through eight starts.
The Halos jumped on Detroit 10-6 in the opener behind a Vaughn Grissom grand slam, then ran into a buzzsaw on Wednesday when Spencer Torkelson homered and doubled twice in a 4-0 Tigers shutout. So the road team comes in 4-1 in the last 5, the home team comes in scuffling at home, and the records are essentially a coin flip — 22-34 Detroit, 21-35 LA.
Tigers are missing a who's-who: Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize are out of the rotation, Javier Baez and Gleyber Torres are out of the infield, Kerry Carpenter is out of the outfield, and closer Kenley Jansen is day-to-day after coughing up the save in Sunday's doubleheader against Baltimore. That last one matters in a one-run game. The Angels aren't exactly whole either — Nolan Schanuel just hit the IL with ankle inflammation, Yoan Moncada and Travis d'Arnaud are still down, and Yusei Kikuchi is targeting a second-half return.
- 10-Day-ILNolan Schanuel 1B — The Angels placed Schanuel on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with left ankle inflammation.
- 10-Day-ILYoan Moncada 3B — Moncada isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILTravis d'Arnaud C — D'Arnaud (foot) told reporters Saturday that he does not have a timetable for his return from the 10-day injured list, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILDrew Pomeranz RP — Pomeranz (elbow) threw a live bullpen session Saturday, per MLB.com.
- 60-Day-ILBen Joyce RP — Manager Kurt Suzuki said Tuesday that Joyce (shoulder) has resumed his throwing program in Arizona, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILYusei Kikuchi SP — Kikuchi (shoulder) said Wednesday that he's slated to begin a throwing program soon and expressed hope that he'll be able to return to the Angels early in the second half of the season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILRobert Stephenson RP — The Angels announced that Stephenson underwent ligament and flexor repair surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and is likely to miss the remainder of the season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILAnthony Rendon 3B — The Angels placed Rendon (hip) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.
- Day-To-DayKenley Jansen RP — Jansen (1-3) allowed three runs on a hit and two walks across an inning of work to blow the save and take the loss in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader against the Orioles.
- Day-To-DayCasey Mize SP — Mize (2-3) allowed two runs on four hits across 6.2 innings and took the loss in Thursday's 3-1 defeat to the Guardians. He struck out four and didn't walk anyone.
- Day-To-DayDugan Darnell RP — The Tigers announced Sunday that Darnell (hip) has been playing catch five times a week and is also taking part in a running progression, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
- 10-Day-ILKerry Carpenter RF — Carpenter (shoulder) hit in a simulated game Wednesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
- 10-Day-ILGleyber Torres 2B — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said that Torres (oblique) felt good while swinging in the batting cage Tuesday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJavier Baez SS — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that Baez is scheduled to meet with a specialist in the near future for further evaluation on his sprained right ankle, which hasn't healed as quickly as the team hoped, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILTy Madden SP — Madden (forearm) covered 4.1 innings and allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks while striking out three batters Monday in a rehab start with Triple-A Toledo.
- 15-Day-ILTarik Skubal SP — Skubal (elbow) threw 39 pitches over 2.2 innings in a simulated game Tuesday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
The market has Detroit -127 at Pinnacle with the total at 8.5, and frankly that feels low given the two ERAs warming up in foul territory. DK is sitting at 7.5, which tells you sharp money isn't buying the over the way you'd expect from a Rodriguez-Flaherty card. EV is negative on every side per the model, so this is a watch-not-bet spot unless you've got a strong read on which bullpen breaks first.
First pitch is 12:10 PM ET from Comerica. Getaway day, noon start, two beat-up rosters, two starters with a combined 0-7 record — whoever takes this one walks out of May feeling like they accomplished something. Whoever loses goes home and stares at the standings.