Series Preview: Cleveland Indians (47-47) vs. Detroit Tigers (53-38)

Probable Pitchers

May 25, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher

(47) pitches in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles defeated the Indians 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Trevor Bauer (3-4, 3.84 ERA, 3.86 SIERA) vs. Anibal Sanchez (6-3, 3.04 ERA, 3.98 SIERA)

Bauer’s last start was nothing short of spectacular. He struck out 10 over 6.2 innings and though it was against the swing-happy White Sox it’s a good sign. It’s the type of outing a great pitcher should have against team like that. Things are trending positively for him. He’s looked more confident on the mound and willing to trust his secondary stuff more often. He’s pitching, for lack of a better word. He’ll have his work cut out for him though – the Tigers are mean and they beat him up on June 21st. Three homers, four earned runs and eight hits in 6.1 innings, though the homer to Davis was quite surprising. He looked better than the numbers suggested.

It’s odd to see Sanchez as the Tigers’ best pitcher and with Scherzer turning it back around he might not be anymore, but he’s been solid for them. His strikeout rate is down to 18.4% from the career high 27.1 last year, but so is his walk rate, albiet .6% to 6.6. He hasn’t blown people away as much but the results are there and his peripherals look solid. He’s always been tough against the Tribe too. He saw them on April 16th, taking the tough luck loss with five innings of two hit, three run ball including four walks. I don’t expect another outing like that for him, not with how spot-on his command has been since. He does have a 3.52/2.16 home/away ERA and corresponding 2.76/3.50 strikeout to walk ratio split which is odd considering the expanse of Comerica’s field. Maybe the outfield defense has been biting him.

Corey Kluber (9-6, 3.01 ERA, 2.92 SIERA) vs. Drew VerHagen (2-5, 3.67 ERA, 3.69 FIP minors)

It wasn’t the prettiest start of Kluber’s stunning season, but six innings of four run ball including Adam Dunn running into one enough to get the team a win at least. He’ll be better with some rest especially since he DIDN’T GET TO PITCH IN THE ALL STAR GAME AND THAT’S SOME BULLCRAP. But whatever. He’s good. He took the loss last time he saw the Tigers despite seven innings of two run ball because Rick Porcello dealt silly for six innings of shutout ball and the bullpen showed up somehow. I’ll take that start again.

It’s a rookie debut! That’s exciting, huh? Besides being a Dutchman, VerHagen is the 12th highest rated prospect in the Tigers’ system according to MLB.com. He throws a sinking fastball from 91-95 with an overhead delivery along with a decent curve and a less than decent changeup. He’s a big dude, 6-6, 230, so there’s likely ability there even if he’s projected as a third or fourth starter. He gets a lot of grounders. I’d like for the Indians to beat him up but I don’t expect it because these damn rookies can be magic sometimes.

Zach McAllister (3-5, 5.63 ERA, 4.22 SIERA) vs. Max Scherzer (11-3, 3.35 ERA, 2.97 SIERA)

Since it’s a double-header McAllister becomes the 26th man on the roster. I don’t understand where all the starting pitchers have gone, and why the hell are there 10 relievers on this team right now? It’ll probably pay off because the Tigers hammer, but it’s still strange. McAllister has been killing it in AAA and was strong the last time he saw the Majors all of a week ago against Chicago, three runs in seven innings of decent ball. Of course, the major league start before that was against the Tigers and he lasted two innings, allowing five runs with two dingers. Hopefully he’s better. He should be, since he went down with a lat injury after that and is now healthy. Again, hopefully.

Funny that the last time McAllister saw the Tigers, Scherzer started opposite him. Somehow he lasted seven innings, giving up 12 hits and seven runs and the Tigers lost anyway. You could blame the bullpen, but Scherzer was bad too. Since then he’s gone 7-2 with a 4.18 ERA. He did throw a complete game for the first time in his career in a shutout then gave up 10 runs the next start. He’s still striking out a ton of batters but giving up more hits than a year ago. We’ll see who shows up.

Jun 24, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher

(33) pitches in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Tomlin 5-6, 4.21 ERA, 3.24 SIERA)  vs. Drew Smyly (5-8, 4.00 ERA, 4.14 SIERA)

Sometimes when Tomlin pitches I wish the leadoff batter of the game will homer just to get that out of the way. It’s impressive he’s been getting a lot of strikeouts this year but that might have something to do with K’s being less of a big deal the last few years. But it’s happening. His peripherals do suggest he is better than the ERA and record suggest. Being that they hammer the ball it’s no surprise that the Tigers pack a .997 OPS against Tomlin this year. It works out to a 7.71 ERA. I really don’t expect much from this one, but maybe those 10 relievers are going to work out here.

Starting has proven to be a tough transition for Smyly. His strikeout rate has dropped from 26.7% last year to 18.7% while his walk rate has leapt nearly two points to 7.5%. In 87.2 innings he’s given up 13 homers compared to just four in 76 last year. He can’t go full bore every time out, it’s to be expected, but you know some people out there are disappointed. He’s throwing a ton of sliders this year, nearly as many as he’s thrown fastballs. It’s kind of crazy really. He does mix in a good amount of cutters and two-seamers. He relies on keeping pitchers off-balance but still that’s a lot of sliders. The Indians scored three off him in five innings on May 19th though he struck out six.