The Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox renew their rivalry for a 124th season in this four-game series that culminates on Sunday with a split at stake for the Tigers. Detroit and Boston are both plodding along near the break-even mark, languishing far back in their division races. But, time is on their side, as the schedule calls for 162 games, meaning many chances await these two original American League franchises.
The first time the Tigers faced the Sox in Boston was June 12, 1901, when they lost to Cy Young (yes, THAT Cy Young), 4-2. The home team wasn’t even known as the Red Sox back then (they wore white hose, thank you very much), and they also played at Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds, a fairly rickety wooden ballpark that was turned into mulch decades ago.
The Tigers roll out Casey Mize and his well-coiffed hair on Sunday, a former NO. 1 overall pick who has all of eight wins on his ledger after seven years as a professional. Mize has been more like a batting practice machine of late, so the Tigers are hoping he can flip his fortune and deliver a quality start so they have something to celebrate when they hop into their chartered plane to fly to Texas on Sunday evening.
Casey Mize (1-3, 4.71 ERA, 34 K in 49.2 IP)
You can find success on the mound without a strikeout pitch, but it’s unusual. Among the 23 starting pitchers to throw at least 40 innings this season AND post a K9 rate of less than 7.0, Mize ranks third lowest in strikeouts per nine and expected ERA. Most importantly, the Tigers have lost four of the last five games Casey has started.
Increasingly, it’s become clear that Mize lacks the stamina to get through a lineup even twice. In his last two starts, the Detroit righty has recorded 18 outs but allowed 19 baserunners. That’s a ratio almost twice what you want from a starter. That means that when Mize starts, manager A.J. Hinch needs to get his bullpen loose in about oh…the second inning. At the end of a four-game series on the road, the bullpen corps better be ready to step in early on Sunday afternoon at Fenway.
Brayan Bello (6-2, 4.18 ERA, 44 K in 47.1 IP)
Ballo has only faced Detroit once and was hammered for nine hits and four earned runs in 4 ⅓ innings. That’s not significant necessarily, but his home/road splits are. The Boston right-hander has an ERA one full run lower at Fenway Park for his career (3.80 compared to 4.83 on the road). He will likely face A.J. Hinch’s left-handed lineup, namely Akil Baddoo and Zach McKinsrty in place of Matt Vierling and Javier Báez.
Leads don’t translate to wins for the Tigers in Boston
The Tigers have staked themselves to early leads in each of the three games of this series against Boston. But only one win has materialized, on Thursday when Detroit won 5-0 behind co-ace Jack Flaherty. It hasn’t been simply a case of the bullpen failing: on Friday and Saturday the starting pitching sagged and did not safeguard the lead. On Sunday, Casey Mize seeks to break that trend.
