The Tigers can score a bunch of runs with the offense they have. But even that hasn’t been enough when starter Mike Pelfrey takes the hill. Detroit’s free-agent offseason signing has been a bust so far and is still in search of his first win.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Tigers have, and will, spend plenty of time on the road, but they take a brief hiatus from visits to airports and hotels to host the Rangers in this three-game weekend set. Detroit played three games in Minnesota last weekend before three more in Cleveland preceding this series. Afterwards, the Tigers are back on the road to Washington and Baltimore.
Detroit picked up the pace a bit at Comerica Park by taking three of four from the Athletics in their last home series. That led to a sweep over the Twins prior to tangling with the Indians. One month into the season, the Tigers are near the top of the AL Central standings and that’s with a below .500 home record. Detroit is just 5-6 in their own yard, down 1.73 units overall. In those 11 games the over is 8-3.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
A.J. Griffin (3-0, 2.32 ERA) pitched well again on Monday, striking out nine across six frames of one-run ball in a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jays. The matchup looked daunting on paper with a fly ball pitcher at Rogers Centre, but Griffin managed to keep the Jays’ bats silent. He allowed just three hits and tied a career-high in strikeouts.
Griffin didn’t pitch well during spring training and entered the season having not made a start in the majors since 2013 due to arm injuries, so his 2.32 ERA over his first five starts is surprising, to say the least.
Not even a two-year $16 million deal can keep Mike Pelfrey (0-4, 5.68 ERA) in the rotation if he continues to struggle. He avoided defeat for the first time as a Tiger on Sunday, but gave up five runs in four-plus innings to the Twins. He left the game down three runs, but the offense roared back to take him off the hook in a game the Tigers eventually won.
Manager Brad Ausmus confirmed that Pelfrey, despite his ineffectiveness, will remain a part of the rotation for now. He’s allowed 10 runs over his last 10.2 innings, lifting his ERA to 5.68 along with a cringe-worthy 2.05 WHIP over 25.1 innings.
LIVE BETTING
It’s only one month, but so far the left knee of Victor Martinez has been strong enough to carry that sweet swing. And at times, the swing has been strong enough to carry the Tigers’ offense. V-Mart closed out April batting .329 with five homers and 18 RBIs. His 1.038 OPS was one of the highest marks at the end of April by a player age 37 or older with at least 80 plate appearances since 2007. Add in nine double and it was Martinez’s strongest, most productive April since 2009.
Martinez entered play this week leading the American League with a 1.072 OPS, trailed only Josh Donaldson with a .663 slugging percentage and ranked third in the league with a .350 batting average. This is the form the Tigers spent most of last summer hoping Martinez would discover, looking for signs that the knee was stabilizing.
QUICK PICK
Pelfrey got a vote of confidence from his manager this week when Ausmus said the right-hander will remain in the rotation. They way things have gone for Pelfrey, you have to believe that if he doesn’t turn things around quickly, he’s going to be one expensive long-reliever.
It’s been just the opposite for Griffin, who is enjoying a renaissance after not pitching in the big leagues for two years. He’s been just what the Rangers needed with Yu Darvish still on the mend. Griffin has been too good and likely will be knocked down a peg, but the Rangers could have a big night offensively, pushing this one over the run total.
MLB Odds: Texas 7, Detroit 5
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