Brewers, Tigers meet in battle of division leaders
Brewers, Tigers meet in battle of division leaders
Could this be a World Series preview? While there's a long way to go between now and the Fall Classic, the Brewers and Tigers do currently leading their respective Central Divisions. Milwaukee has reached this point primarily on the strength of their bats while Detroit is getting it done with their arms. That should make for an interesting clash at Comerica Park on this interleague weekend.
At least something is going right in Detroit.
The Red Wings may have lost the Stanley Cup, and the Pistons didn’t have a prayer in the NBA playoffs, but the Detroit Tigers are still in first place in the American League Central at 35-31 (plus-2.05 units). That’s pretty good for a team that finished last in the division in 2008 at 74-88 (minus-29.17 units) after going into the campaign as a World Series contender.
The Tigers will try to stay in the black against the Milwaukee Brewers, who lead the National League Central at 37-29 (plus-7.43 units) and are coming off a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians at The Jake.
If you’ve been waiting for a series price, you’ve been kept waiting because the Tigers weren’t sure who was going to start Game 2 on Saturday. Dontrelle Willis has been put on the 15-day disabled list with an anxiety disorder; reports at press time had the Tigers preparing to call up right-hander Alfredo Figaro from AA-Erie to make his major-league debut. Manager Jim Leyland says Figaro is being added full-time to the starting rotation, citing the recommendation of his scouting staff and Figaro’s command of multiple pitches at spring training.
“He’s got a fastball, curve, slider and change. He’s got it all,” Leyland told the local press Thursday. “Figaro could give us lightning in a bottle or (not).”
A bet on the Tigers in this series, eventually released as -145 favorites at TheGreek, is essentially a bet of faith on what’s in Figaro’s bottle. The Brewers are responding with a proven weapon against the betting odds in Dave Bush (8-5 team record, plus-3.55 units), although he was pounded for eight runs by the Indians on Monday. His propensity for giving up the long ball (17 already this year) keeps him at the end of the rotation; Detroit is ranked No. 12 in the majors with 69 home runs in 65 games. This despite playing at Comerica Park, where the park factor for homers is 0.793, down from 1.188 last year.
You can blame Magglio Ordoñez if you like. All of the life seems to have drained from his bat at age 35; his OPS has shriveled from .870 to .690, and he’s cleared the fence just twice this year. Leyland has taken Ordoñez out of the lineup and replaced him with Ryan Raburn (.731 OPS) in right field. Raburn was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts Thursday in a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals (-101).
The Brewers have a fair bit more pop in their bats. Milwaukee is No. 7 in the majors with 77 dingers in 66 games; Prince Fielder (16), Ryan Braun (14) and even Mike Cameron (12) are putting serious wood on the ball this year. They have to like their chances in Friday’s series opener with slumping Armando Galarraga (5-8, minus-3.97 units) taking the hill for Detroit. Galarraga has given up 13 long flies over his past nine starts, the Tigers losing seven.
Milwaukee has the apparent pitching advantage in Game 1 with Braden Looper (8-5, plus-2.83 units) and preferred status as -125 road faves on Friday night. The total of 10 runs might be a little generous; the Under is 8-5 for Galarraga despite his flaws, not to mention 10-2 in Detroit’s last 12 home games and 21-9 in their last 30 overall.
Runs should be even harder to come by in Sunday’s series finale, as both teams return to the top of the rotation. Justin Verlander (9-5, plus-3.49 units) is due up for Detroit and looking for a quick rebound after having his streak of nine quality starts (allowing eight earned runs over 65.1 innings) snapped by St. Louis on Tuesday. His opposing number, Yovani Gallardo (9-4, plus-3.80 units), has been even more punishing on hitters with a 2.93 ERA to Verlander’s 3.39. But Gallardo racks up high pitch counts pretty quickly, failing to complete six innings in five of his last seven appearances. Verlander has the stamina and the betting value here.
Could this be a World Series preview? While there's a long way to go between now and the Fall Classic, the Brewers and Tigers do currently leading their respective Central Divisions. Milwaukee has reached this point primarily on the strength of their bats while Detroit is getting it done with their arms. That should make for an interesting clash at Comerica Park on this interleague weekend.
At least something is going right in Detroit.
The Red Wings may have lost the Stanley Cup, and the Pistons didn’t have a prayer in the NBA playoffs, but the Detroit Tigers are still in first place in the American League Central at 35-31 (plus-2.05 units). That’s pretty good for a team that finished last in the division in 2008 at 74-88 (minus-29.17 units) after going into the campaign as a World Series contender.
The Tigers will try to stay in the black against the Milwaukee Brewers, who lead the National League Central at 37-29 (plus-7.43 units) and are coming off a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians at The Jake.
If you’ve been waiting for a series price, you’ve been kept waiting because the Tigers weren’t sure who was going to start Game 2 on Saturday. Dontrelle Willis has been put on the 15-day disabled list with an anxiety disorder; reports at press time had the Tigers preparing to call up right-hander Alfredo Figaro from AA-Erie to make his major-league debut. Manager Jim Leyland says Figaro is being added full-time to the starting rotation, citing the recommendation of his scouting staff and Figaro’s command of multiple pitches at spring training.
“He’s got a fastball, curve, slider and change. He’s got it all,” Leyland told the local press Thursday. “Figaro could give us lightning in a bottle or (not).”
A bet on the Tigers in this series, eventually released as -145 favorites at TheGreek, is essentially a bet of faith on what’s in Figaro’s bottle. The Brewers are responding with a proven weapon against the betting odds in Dave Bush (8-5 team record, plus-3.55 units), although he was pounded for eight runs by the Indians on Monday. His propensity for giving up the long ball (17 already this year) keeps him at the end of the rotation; Detroit is ranked No. 12 in the majors with 69 home runs in 65 games. This despite playing at Comerica Park, where the park factor for homers is 0.793, down from 1.188 last year.
You can blame Magglio Ordoñez if you like. All of the life seems to have drained from his bat at age 35; his OPS has shriveled from .870 to .690, and he’s cleared the fence just twice this year. Leyland has taken Ordoñez out of the lineup and replaced him with Ryan Raburn (.731 OPS) in right field. Raburn was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts Thursday in a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals (-101).
The Brewers have a fair bit more pop in their bats. Milwaukee is No. 7 in the majors with 77 dingers in 66 games; Prince Fielder (16), Ryan Braun (14) and even Mike Cameron (12) are putting serious wood on the ball this year. They have to like their chances in Friday’s series opener with slumping Armando Galarraga (5-8, minus-3.97 units) taking the hill for Detroit. Galarraga has given up 13 long flies over his past nine starts, the Tigers losing seven.
Milwaukee has the apparent pitching advantage in Game 1 with Braden Looper (8-5, plus-2.83 units) and preferred status as -125 road faves on Friday night. The total of 10 runs might be a little generous; the Under is 8-5 for Galarraga despite his flaws, not to mention 10-2 in Detroit’s last 12 home games and 21-9 in their last 30 overall.
Runs should be even harder to come by in Sunday’s series finale, as both teams return to the top of the rotation. Justin Verlander (9-5, plus-3.49 units) is due up for Detroit and looking for a quick rebound after having his streak of nine quality starts (allowing eight earned runs over 65.1 innings) snapped by St. Louis on Tuesday. His opposing number, Yovani Gallardo (9-4, plus-3.80 units), has been even more punishing on hitters with a 2.93 ERA to Verlander’s 3.39. But Gallardo racks up high pitch counts pretty quickly, failing to complete six innings in five of his last seven appearances. Verlander has the stamina and the betting value here.