The Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers square off in a three-game series in Motor City beginning on Friday. It’s been since the 80s since either team captured a World Series Championship despite both being in the running for the last several years, winning their respective divisions before folding the playoffs. The Dodgers are poised for another run this year and are the favorites to win it all right now. The Tigers, meanwhile, have gone the other way. They were sellers at the deadline and are now looking several years into the future as they await several expiring contracts for their older players.
This series will be contested from Friday, August 18, 2017 through Sunday, August 20, 2017 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Saturday’s showdown will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1.
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Pitching Matchups
The series is set to open on Friday with Rich Hill on the mound for the Dodgers and Jordan Zimmermann starting for the Tigers.
Hill, like the rest of the Dodgers, just keeps chugging along. He allowed two runs in six innings in his last start. Los Angeles lost that game, but they’re 6-1 in his last seven starts overall.
The veteran southpaw has won four straight decisions and has allowed no more than three runs in nine straight outings.
On the year, Hill is 8-4 with a 3.44 ERA and 1.202 WHIP. He’s started 17 games and thrown 89 innings. He gives the Dodgers five to six quality innings in each start. He won’t go deep in the game, but he will give you quality to start before turning things over to the pen to finish.
Zimmermann, on the other hand, is far less dependable. After signing with the Tigers last year, he has completely fallen off the face of the earth. He’s 7-9 with a 5.62 ERA and 1.488 in 23 starts this year. His 81 earned runs allowed are the most in the league.
The righty had strung together three straight quality start before allowing seven runs in 3.1 innings in his previous start. The Twins torn him apart in that game.
Detroit will hope he can bounce back and put up another quality start. He’s pitched well against the Dodgers in his career, pitching to a 2.11 ERA in four starts. That, however, when he was pitching like an ace for the Nationals.
The series continues with Michael Fulmer starting the second game for the Tigers. Fulmer has had a great year, but is making just his second start off the DL. In his first start, he lasted only five innings and threw 75 pitches. It’ll be worth watching how short of a leash Brad Ausmus gives him.
On the year, Fulmer is 10-10 with a 3.78 ERA in his 22 starts.
Hyun-Jin Ryu and Kenta Maeda are the probable starters for the Dodgers for the final two games of this series for the Dodgers.
Ryu and Maeda are just two of a collection of above-average arms for Los Angeles. Ryu is 4-6 with a 3.63 ERA and Maeda is 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA.
The series wraps on Sunday with Justin Verlander on the hill provided he’s still with the Tigers by the weekend.
Verlander has been in trade rumors for a while now and he’s been pitching much better since just July 8 start. In those last seven, he has thrown seven quality starts. His last outing, was an eight-inning, one-hitter against the Pirates. In the last three games, he’s allowed two runs over 21 innings.
Betting Trends
The Tigers are 2-9 in their last 11 games while the Dodgers continue to be the game’s best team. They’re rolling along having won 18 of their last 21 games.
The Dodgers have done as much damage against the AL as they have against the NL. Los Angeles is 12-3 this year in interleague play. The Tigers are 5-9.
If all those numbers are not enough to point in the Dodgers direction in this series, perhaps a look at the individual numbers is better.
The Tigers’ past success was predicated heavily on the shoulders of Miguel Cabrera who, to this point in the season, has a OPS+ of 99. This team is much like the Phillies of a few years ago: too old and too expensive.
Detroit has gotten old quickly. Cabrera, Ian Kinsler and Victor Martinez are all great players—or where in their prime—but all three have taken significant strides backwards this season. Meanwhile, the bullpen has remained a huge issue. Al Avila never did find a solution. In fact, he dealt away Justin Wilson at the deadline, making this already spotty pen even less reliable.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, has depth like no other. There are very few weaknesses on this team. Center field could be upgraded from Joc Pederson, for instance, but we’re getting nitpicky to find points of upgrade potential.
Names to Remember
Chris Taylor is the unsung hero for the Dodgers and Cody Bellinger’s bat is the one that really sparked this offense to go on a tear. Both are, obviously, key players in any series, but one play to keep a particularly close eye on is Enrique Hernandez.
The role player, like Taylor, has shown the ability to play a plethora of positions which is great considering how good he is at the dish against southpaws. He’s batting just .185 against righties, but is hitting .254 with a .356 OBP and nine homers against lefties. His OPS against left-handers is .961.
Lefties were a huge weakness for the Dodgers, but they’ve been a strength in 2017 and a large part of that is Hernandez. Watch out for Hernandez in the right pinch hit spot against Daniel Stumpf or Chad Bell.
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