Two teams going nowhere in the standings, but one guy on this field is must-watch no matter the record — and he's not walking off the mound anytime soon if the Tigers have their way.
Bush’s PicksPicks madeJul 7, 4:18 AM CT
+196ATHDET-170-217
-112ATH +1.5DET -1.5+124+102
-101Over 8.5Under 8.5-112
Best BetTigers -217
Backing Detroit here mostly comes down to who's pitching — Skubal's coming off a near-flawless start and Oakland's lineup is missing its DH and shortstop. The Athletics get some savings with Ginn pitching well of late, but asking a shorthanded offense to beat a red-hot Cy Young winner is a tall order.
Athletics
+Ginn won last start, cleaned up a rough June
+Ginn's ERA a sharp 3.04 on the season
−Lost 3 straight, 7 of last 8 games
−Rooker done for year, Wilson and Soderstrom out
Tigers
+Skubal looks fully back, dominant last outing
+Tigers went 5-1 on last road trip
−Detroit still sits at 40-50 on the year
−Torres and other regulars out with injuries too
J.T. Ginn (7-4, 3.04 ERA) gets the ball for Oakland after finally righting the ship following a rocky June, and he draws a Tarik Skubal who looks every bit the two-time Cy Young winner again. First pitch is 6:40 PM ET.
Skubal missed six weeks earlier this year recovering from a NanoScope elbow procedure, but you'd never know it watching his last start — 1 hit, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts over 6 innings against the Yankees. The Tigers keep saying they're not rebuilding, but with Detroit at 40-50 and the trade deadline four weeks out, every Skubal start doubles as an audition for a contender that might trade for him in August.
Show fees
6:40 PM ET
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ATH Athletics
DET Tigers
Oakland, meanwhile, is running out of healthy bodies. Brent Rooker is done for the year after season-ending knee surgery, and Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson are both shelved into the All-Star break. That's the middle of the lineup gutted heading into a series against a pitcher who just shut down the Yankees on one hit.
Athletics
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Detroit Tigers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Detroit's actually playing decent baseball right now, going 5-1 on its last road trip before coming home. Oakland is the opposite story — losers of 3 straight and 7 of its last 8, a stretch that includes getting outscored 21-8 combined in the final two Marlins games.
Athletics
Detroit Tigers
Recent form.
None of this changes the fact both clubs are well below .500 with the season more than half over. But Skubal draws eyeballs regardless of the standings, and Detroit's coming off a series in which it took 2 of 3 from a scuffling Rangers team. If the Tigers' bats show up behind him, this one could get lopsided in a hurry.
