First pitch is 1:10 PM CT and the pitching matchup is the headline. Mize (2-3, 2.27) hasn't toed a big-league rubber since May 27, when he punched out 6 over 4 scoreless against the Angels on just 58 pitches. The Tigers had him lined up to come off the IL in Cleveland over the weekend, but the Sunday rainout pushed everything to this getaway game in Houston. He draws Peter Lambert (5-4, 3.47), who has quietly been one of the few stable arms in an Astros rotation that's been duct-taped together all month.
Detroit has been winning the EV battle and losing the actual games. The Tigers ripped Houston 9-3 in the opener Monday, then dropped a 4-2 dud Tuesday after Gleyber Torres sat with a side issue and Colt Keith was day-to-day with a wrist (X-rays came back clean, per the Detroit News). A.J. Hinch's group is 30-43 and has lost 4 of its last 5 if you count the rainout, but the rotation is genuinely thin — Flaherty just hit the IL with a peroneal strain, Olson is done for the year, and Jackson Jobe is still weeks away from facing hitters. Getting Mize back, even on a pitch count, matters.
- Day-To-DayGleyber Torres 2B — Torres (side) didn't play in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Astros.
- Day-To-DayColt Keith 3B — X-rays on Keith's right wrist came back negative Tuesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
- Day-To-DayTroy Melton SP — Melton is optimistic about avoiding a stint on the 15-day injured list after being scratched from Monday's scheduled start against Houston due to lower-back tightness, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News 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.
- 15-Day-ILCasey Mize SP — MIze (adductor) won't be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday against the Guardians after the game was postponed due to inclement weather in Cleveland.
- 15-Day-ILJack Flaherty SP — The Tigers placed Flaherty on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a left peroneal strain.
- 15-Day-ILBurch Smith RP — Smith (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Tuesday, MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILJustin Verlander SP — Verlander (hip) will return from the injured list to start Sunday's game against the White Sox, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
- Day-To-DayWalker Janek C — Double-A Corpus Christi placed Janek on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILBraden Shewmake SS — The Astros announced Monday that Shewmake (adductor) has taken part in baseball activity and is working his way through a running progression at the team's facility in Florida, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILLaMonte Wade Jr. 1B — Wade left Monday's game against the Angels with right hamstring soreness, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILNick Allen SS — Allen was removed from Sunday's game against the Athletics due to left hamstring discomfort.
- 15-Day-ILLance McCullers Jr. SP — Astros manager Joe Espada said Saturday that McCullers (shoulder) has resumed throwing off a mound, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILBennett Sousa RP — The Astros announced Friday that Sousa (elbow) has begun a throwing progression, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILCristian Javier SP — Javier (shoulder) didn't make a rehab start Sunday as planned after Triple-A Sugar Land had its game against Sacramento get postponed due to rain, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILRonel Blanco SP — Blanco (elbow) tossed 40 pitches in a simulated game Saturday and will soon start a rehab stint in the Florida Complex League, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Houston's not exactly healthy either. Carlos Correa is post-ankle surgery, Lance McCullers is just now back on a mound, LaMonte Wade Jr. is on the IL with a hamstring, and Nick Allen is down too. At 34-41 the Astros are scuffling enough that Hunter Brown's return earlier in the week was treated like a season-saver. Lambert has been the steady one — his last start was 6.1 innings of 2-run ball in Anaheim with 6 punchouts and zero walks on 91 pitches, which is exactly the kind of efficient outing Joe Espada needs to keep getting from the back end.
This is a coin-flip game the market is treating like one. Houston is a tick of a favorite at home, Detroit has the better ERA on the mound, and both bullpens have been worked. If Mize's pitch count holds up past the 5th, the Tigers are live to take the series. If it doesn't, this turns into a bullpen game and Houston's offense — which already put up 4 on Tuesday without Wade — has the edge.