The Tigers walked into Monday night thinking they had Tarik Skubal on the mound and walked out watching him head toward elbow surgery instead. Loose bodies, scratched warmup, season in flux. Boston punched in 5 runs behind a Jarren Duran 3-run shot in the 7th and stole the opener at Comerica.
Tuesday's middle game lines up Framber Valdez against a Boston bullpen game. Valdez has been everything Detroit hoped when they signed him — 2 runs or fewer in 6 of 7 starts and now the de facto ace with Skubal cooked. The Red Sox counter with opener Jovani Moran and bulk man Brayan Bello, whose 9.12 ERA is the kind of number that makes an over bet feel reasonable before you've even checked the line.
The market clearly believes Valdez can stabilize this thing. Detroit is the home favorite and the public is piling on the Tigers side, but the EV columns aren't selling either ticket. With a Boston piggyback start and a banged-up Detroit lineup, the total at 8 might be where the real action is.
Speaking of banged-up — A.J. Hinch's injury list is starting to read like a roster page. Skubal, Verlander, Mize, Jobe all on the shelf in the rotation. Javier Baez out with an ankle. Gleyber Torres unavailable to even pinch hit Monday with a side issue. Zach McKinstry could come back tonight, which would at least put a real second baseman in the lineup, but this team is duct-taping things together.
- Day-To-DayRanger Suarez SP — Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said Friday that Suarez's (hamstring) next start will come next week "sometime in the Philly series," Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayHobie Harris RP — Harris was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
- 10-Day-ILRoman Anthony LF — The Red Sox placed Anthony (wrist) on the 10-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to Tuesday, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.
- 15-Day-ILJustin Slaten RP — Slaten (oblique) allowed one hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning for Double-A Portland on Sunday.
- 15-Day-ILDanny Coulombe RP — The Red Sox placed Coulombe on the 15-day injured list Monday with cervical spasms.
- 15-Day-ILGarrett Crochet SP — Crochet (shoulder) was able to play catch Sunday for the first time since landing on the injured list Wednesday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 15-Day-ILKutter Crawford SP — Crawford has been diagnosed with inflammation in his right elbow following an MRI, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 60-Day-ILTriston Casas 1B — The Red Sox transferred Casas (abdomen/knee) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
- Day-To-DayGleyber Torres 2B — Torres (side) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Red Sox, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
- Day-To-DayMax Anderson 2B — Anderson has gone 4-for-7 with two home runs, two walks and one stolen base over three rehab games for Single-A Lakeland since Triple-A Toledo placed him on its 7-day injured list April 5 due to an unspecified injury.
- 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-ILJavier Baez SS — The Tigers placed Baez on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a right ankle sprain.
- 15-Day-ILTarik Skubal SP — Skubal has been scratched from his scheduled start Monday against the Red Sox due to an undisclosed injury, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
- 15-Day-ILJustin Verlander SP — Verlander (hip) threw a bullpen session Sunday at close to full intensity, MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILWill Vest RP — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Friday that Vest is "not at 100 percent" physically, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILCasey Mize SP — Mize was removed from Tuesday's game against Atlanta with an apparent injury, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Detroit sits at 18-18 and 3-2 over its last 5, which is the kind of mediocre that gets exposed quickly when your Cy Young winner walks off mid-inning rubbing his elbow. The Red Sox don't need to do anything fancy here — get to Valdez early, let the bullpen-by-committee survive 5 or 6, and they put a stranglehold on the series with a getaway day still to come.
Pick a side at your own risk. Valdez at home with the rotation collapsing around him is a guy who pitches with something to prove. But this Tigers offense without Baez, Torres and Meadows is a tough ask against any pitching plan, even one that involves Brayan Bello in the middle innings.