Season Of Misery
Going into this season, the Detroit Tigers had high hopes of playing deep into October.
Instead, they’re stumbling toward the finish line – and perhaps last place in the AL Central.
The Tigers will hope to avoid that fate during a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals starting Monday, when the Royals begin a season-ending road trip at Comerica Park.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Detroit -125 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 64% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit -125 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Its playoff hopes long since squelched, Detroit (71-83) has lost nine of its last 10, allowing an average of 6.5 runs over that span. Despite the second-highest opening-day payroll in baseball, the club’s 4.85 ERA for the season ranks 27th in the majors.
In Sunday’s 10-5 loss at Cleveland, Dontrelle Willis walked six and had three wild pitches in 2 1-3 innings, sending the Tigers home after going 1-7 on their road trip. Detroit manager Jim Leyland missed the final three games of the trip – a sweep in Cleveland – while serving a suspension for arguing with umpires, but he’ll return Monday.
The Tigers’ recent swoon leaves them just two games ahead of last-place Kansas City in the Central. Detroit last finished fifth in the division in 2003, when it lost a club-record 119 games.
The Royals (70-86) have held down the cellar each of the last four years, but a late surge could spare them that fate this season. Even Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox was only their second defeat in the last 10 games.
Kansas City has received outstanding pitching over that span, holding opponents to three or fewer runs eight times. Gil Meche contributed to one of those games, allowing two runs in seven innings of a 5-2 win over Seattle on Wednesday.
Gil Meche (12-11, 4.08 ERA) will look to continue a solid second half on Monday. Since the All-Star break, the right-hander is 6-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 12 starts, racking up 84 strikeouts in 78 innings.
Meche also seems to like pitching at Comerica Park. He didn’t get a decision after allowing two runs in seven innings of Kansas City’s 4-2 loss there on Aug. 31, but he’s 4-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 11 career starts in Detroit.
The Tigers will counter with Zach Miner (8-4, 4.16), who’s 5-1 with a 4.11 ERA in 11 starts since joining the rotation in July. He gave up two runs in 7 1-3 innings at Texas on Tuesday, but the bullpen blew a late lead in Detroit’s 5-4 loss.
In his last two home starts, Miner has allowed 13 runs and 19 hits in 10 1-3 innings in a pair of no-decisions, but he’s looked like a different pitcher against the Royals. In two August starts against Kansas City, Miner conceded just one run and nine hits in 13 in a pair of victories.
Detroit has won seven of its last nine against the Royals after dropping the first six games in the 2008 season series.
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