The Guardians (26-22) come in playing the cleanest baseball of either side, with Slade Cecconi finally throwing like a big-league starter again after an ugly opening month. The Tigers (20-27) just got swept by the Mets, lost Ty Madden to a forearm bruise on Saturday, and are trying to hold a rotation together with duct tape while Tarik Skubal recovers from elbow surgery.
Cecconi's 5.60 ERA looks scary on the card, but it's hiding a real turnaround. He struck out 7 over 4 scoreless innings against the Angels on May 12 and has won 2 starts in a row after starting 0-4. He says the curveball is finally back. If that holds, this is a different pitcher than the one Detroit might've been licking its chops over a month ago.
Framber Valdez is the steadier name on paper at 4.32 and the guy Detroit signed to anchor a rotation that has since imploded. His first start back from suspension was a good one — 7 strikeouts into the 7th against the Mets — but the bullpen behind him coughed it up in extras. That's been the Tigers' whole month in one sentence.
- Day-To-DayCarlos Hernandez RP — Hernandez (shoulder) began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Friday.
- 10-Day-ILGabriel Arias SS — no
- 15-Day-ILShawn Armstrong RP — Armstrong (groin) allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning for Double-A Akron on Friday, MLB.com reports.
- 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.
- Day-To-DayJosue Briceno C — Briceno said Friday that he expects to be sidelined a few months after having surgery Wednesday to repair a tendon in his right wrist, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
- 10-Day-ILGleyber Torres 2B — Manager A.J. Hinch said Friday that Torres (oblique) is "trending toward" beginning a rehab assignment, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILKerry Carpenter RF — The Tigers placed Carpenter on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder.
- 10-Day-ILJavier Baez SS — The Tigers placed Baez on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a right ankle sprain.
- 15-Day-ILTy Madden SP — The Tigers are placing Madden on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Saturday due to a bruised right forearm.
- 15-Day-ILTarik Skubal SP — Skubal (elbow) has resumed playing catch, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
- 60-Day-ILJustin Verlander SP — The Tigers transferred Verlander to the 60-day injured list Sunday.
The injury sheet here is genuinely grim for Detroit. Skubal, Justin Verlander, Reese Olson and Ty Madden are all out of the rotation. Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows and Javier Baez are out of the lineup. Gleyber Torres is at least trending toward a rehab assignment, which is the closest thing to good news A.J. Hinch has gotten in two weeks. Cleveland, by comparison, is basically just missing Gabriel Arias.
Pinnacle has the Tigers as a small home favorite at -140 on the moneyline with the total at 8.5, which feels generous given who's actually walking onto Detroit's field right now. The market is still pricing the name on the back of the jersey; the roster underneath it is a different story.
Take Cecconi keeping the curveball where it was last week and Detroit's banged-up lineup has a real problem. The Tigers need Valdez to go 7 and the bullpen to not blow it — which, again, is the exact script that just failed against the Mets. The Guardians have every reason to walk out of Comerica with a win.