Detroit Tigers vs. Seattle Mariners Preview and Predictions 05-20-2018
20th May 2018 by Gracenote
life without second baseman robinson cano hasn't been too hard on the seattle mariners, who will try for their third straight victory over the visiting detroit tigers on sunday. seattle improved to 4-2 without cano, who broke his hand sunday before getting suspended 80 games by major league baseball on tuesday, after saturday's 7-2 victory as dee gordon has made a seamless transition back to the keystone after the mariners had converted him to a center fielder.
gordon (.306) is 1-for-8 with three rbis, including a two-run double saturday, while playing error-free ball in his first two games of the season at second base and seattle will need him to continue producing if it is to remain a contender in the american league west. detroit (20-25) hopes to kick start its offense, which has produced nine runs in its last four games - three losses - as it played without miguel cabrera (.323) on saturday for the 17th time in 18 may games. the tigers' francisco liriano looks for a return to the early season form that saw him go 3-1 with a 2.97 era in his first six starts and opposes wade leblanc, who has filled in admirably for the injured erasmo ramirez. leblanc has allowed one run in 15 innings over three starts since moving into the rotation in place of ramirez, who is out with a shoulder injury.
tv: 4:10 p.m. et, fs detroit, root northwest (seattle)
pitching matchup: tigers lh francisco liriano (3-1, 4.03 era) vs. mariners lh wade leblanc (0-0, 2.51)
liriano allowed five runs, seven hits and three walks while striking out three in 4 1/3 innings of detroit's 9-8 victory over cleveland on tuesday. the 34-year-old dominican republic native wasn't much better in his previous start, yielding three runs, four hits and four walks in four innings of the tigers' 5-4 loss at texas on may 9. nelson cruz and kyle seager have each homered and are a combined 5-for-15 against liriano, who is 6-3 with a 3.36 era in 14 games (11 starts) versus seattle.
leblanc permitted three hits and struck out four in six innings of the mariners' 1-0 victory at minnesota on monday. "we got a little bit more than we were hoping to get out of him, which was great," seattle manager scott servais told reporters about the 33-year-old louisiana native. "just an awesome job." jose iglesias (.248 batting average this season, 5-for-13 in last four games) is 2-for-3 versus leblanc, who allowed four runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings versus detroit in one start and one relief appearance in his career without earning a decision.
walk-offs
1. tigers 3b niko goodrum (.265) went 1-for-3 on saturday to extend his career-high hitting streak to eight games. he is 12-for-30 with three home runs, three doubles, seven rbis and seven runs scored during that span.
2. mariners ss jean segura (.316) is 19-for-44 with eight rbis and eight runs scored in his last 10 games, raising his average 36 points.
3. iglesias was 7-for-13 with a home run, double, five rbis and two runs scored in his first four games versus seattle this season before going 0-for-3 on saturday.
prediction: mariners 3, tigers 2
20th May 2018 by Gracenote
life without second baseman robinson cano hasn't been too hard on the seattle mariners, who will try for their third straight victory over the visiting detroit tigers on sunday. seattle improved to 4-2 without cano, who broke his hand sunday before getting suspended 80 games by major league baseball on tuesday, after saturday's 7-2 victory as dee gordon has made a seamless transition back to the keystone after the mariners had converted him to a center fielder.
gordon (.306) is 1-for-8 with three rbis, including a two-run double saturday, while playing error-free ball in his first two games of the season at second base and seattle will need him to continue producing if it is to remain a contender in the american league west. detroit (20-25) hopes to kick start its offense, which has produced nine runs in its last four games - three losses - as it played without miguel cabrera (.323) on saturday for the 17th time in 18 may games. the tigers' francisco liriano looks for a return to the early season form that saw him go 3-1 with a 2.97 era in his first six starts and opposes wade leblanc, who has filled in admirably for the injured erasmo ramirez. leblanc has allowed one run in 15 innings over three starts since moving into the rotation in place of ramirez, who is out with a shoulder injury.
tv: 4:10 p.m. et, fs detroit, root northwest (seattle)
pitching matchup: tigers lh francisco liriano (3-1, 4.03 era) vs. mariners lh wade leblanc (0-0, 2.51)
liriano allowed five runs, seven hits and three walks while striking out three in 4 1/3 innings of detroit's 9-8 victory over cleveland on tuesday. the 34-year-old dominican republic native wasn't much better in his previous start, yielding three runs, four hits and four walks in four innings of the tigers' 5-4 loss at texas on may 9. nelson cruz and kyle seager have each homered and are a combined 5-for-15 against liriano, who is 6-3 with a 3.36 era in 14 games (11 starts) versus seattle.
leblanc permitted three hits and struck out four in six innings of the mariners' 1-0 victory at minnesota on monday. "we got a little bit more than we were hoping to get out of him, which was great," seattle manager scott servais told reporters about the 33-year-old louisiana native. "just an awesome job." jose iglesias (.248 batting average this season, 5-for-13 in last four games) is 2-for-3 versus leblanc, who allowed four runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings versus detroit in one start and one relief appearance in his career without earning a decision.
walk-offs
1. tigers 3b niko goodrum (.265) went 1-for-3 on saturday to extend his career-high hitting streak to eight games. he is 12-for-30 with three home runs, three doubles, seven rbis and seven runs scored during that span.
2. mariners ss jean segura (.316) is 19-for-44 with eight rbis and eight runs scored in his last 10 games, raising his average 36 points.
3. iglesias was 7-for-13 with a home run, double, five rbis and two runs scored in his first four games versus seattle this season before going 0-for-3 on saturday.
prediction: mariners 3, tigers 2
