DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS-GUARDIANS SPLIT FRIDAY TWIN BILL: The Tigers and Guardians split a doubleheader on Friday with Detroit winning the first game, 4-2, and Cleveland taking the nightcap, 4-1. In the first game, Akil Baddoo had a pair of hits, including a leadoff home run, while Jake Rogers added a solo homer. Miguel Cabrera and Kerry Carpenter each had a hit and a RBI. Tarik Skubal earned the win, giving up just one run on three hits with a walk and seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Tyler Holton walked one and struck out two over 2.0 hitless innings, while Jason Foley gave up a run in the ninth, but picked up his sixth save. In the second game, Javier Báez had a pair of hits and Andy Ibáñez went 1×3 with a double and a RBI. Joey Wentz started for Detroit, throwing 5.0 shutout innings with four hits allowed, two walks and three strikeouts. Beau Brieske pitched 1.2 hitless innings in relief with one walk and two strikeouts.

ROSTER MOVES: The Tigers have announced the following roster moves:
*Following last night’s game, returned LHP Joey Wentz to Triple A Toledo after he served as the 27th man

*Signed C Carson Kelly to a Major League contract and added him to the active roster. Kelly will wear No. 15

*Designated C Eric Haase for assignment

MOVIN’ ON UP: Miguel Cabrera continued his climb up the all-time RBI list yesterday, hitting a run-scoring double in the first game. The RBI was the 1,868th of his big league career, tying him with Mel Ott for 11th place in MLB history. Over his last 45 games, Cabrera is batting 308/.372/.432 with 12 doubles, two home runs
and 16 RBI.

LEADING OFF WITH A BANG: Akil Baddoo led off the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader with a home run, his eighth of the season and his second career leadoff homer (other, September 17, 2021 at Tampa Bay). In 14 games during August, Baddoo has a .903 OPS with three doubles, three home runs and four RBI.

ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END: Kerry Carpenter went 0x3 with a walk in the second game of yesterday’s doubleheader, snapping his hitting streak at a career-best 13 games, which also ranks as the longest streak by a Tigers hitter this season. During the streak, Carpenter hit .438/.481/.813 with three doubles, five home runs and eight RBI.

ON THE ROAD: The Tigers are 3-4 on their current nine-game road trip, which includes three games at Boston (1-2), two games at Minnesota (1-1) and four games at Cleveland (1-1). Detroit is 29- 34 on the road this season. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .224/.291/.375 away from Comerica Park, while the pitching staff has a 4.25 ERA (543.2IP/257ER).

TIGERS AND GUARDIANS: The Tigers and Guardians continue their third series of the season tonight. Detroit is 5-3 against Cleveland so far this season. The Tigers are looking to win the season series from Cleveland for the first time since 2015.

AGAINST THE AL CENTRAL: The Tigers continue divisional play tonight against the Guardians. Detroit is 23-15 against American League Central teams so far this season. The Tigers are 8-2-1 in their 11 series against division opponents.. Detroit is looking to post its first winning record against the AL Central since 2016 (38-37).

TIGERS ON THE IL:

• LHP Tyler Alexander (left lat/shoulder strain, 60-day IL on July 4, retroactive to July 3)
• LHP Matthew Boyd (left elbow sprain, 60-day IL on June 27)
• RHP Mason Englert (left hip tightness, 15-day IL on July 24, retroactive to July 23)
• OF Austin Meadows (anxiety, 60-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)
• RHP Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on February 17)
• RHP Freddy Pacheco (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on March 27)
• RHP Spencer Turnbull (neck discomfort, 60-day IL on May 12, retroactive to May 7)

TONIGHT’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER

25 Matt Manning • 4-4, 4.60 ERA (58.2IP/30ER)

• Manning will make his 12th start of the season tonight at Cleveland.
• Picked up his fourth win of the season in his most recent start last Saturday at Boston, allowing one unearned run on two hits with three walks and a strikeout in 5.1 innings.
• His faced the Guardians twice in his career, both at Progressive Field, and has a 0-2 record with a 17.61 ERA (7.2IP/15ER) and five strikeouts.
• Was the Tigers starting pitcher for the first combined no-hitter in franchise history on July 8 vs. Toronto, tossing 6.2 innings with three walks and five strikeouts…marked his fourth career start with at least 6.0 shutout innings.
• Returned to the active roster on June 27 at Texas, allowing two runs on three hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 5.2 innings…had been sidelined since April 12 with a right foot fracture.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:

GUARDS SPLIT TWIN BILL WITH DETROIT
The Cleveland Guardians & Detroit Tigers returned to action after Thursday’s rainout, splitting a traditional twinbill on Friday night at Progressive Field…Tigers took Game One by a 4-2 margin, while the Guardians answered with a late comeback to secure a 4-1 victory in Game Two…club has gone 11-8-4 over last 23 series (+2G above .500/38-36 record since May 26).

Detroit jumped on GAVIN WILLIAMS (5.0IP, 6H, 3R-ER, 2BB, 4SO, HR, 90 pitches) for a trio of 1st-inning runs on the way to a 4-2 victory in G1…Akil Baddoo drilled Williams’ second offering of the game over the CF wall for a lead-off HR (8), while Kerry Carpenter (RBI-single) and Miguel Cabrera (RBI-double) added run-scoring hits…Jake Rogers tacked on a solo shot off ELI MORGAN in the 9th…OSCAR GONZALEZ drove in both Cleveland tallies, bringing JOSÉ RAMÍREZ home with a 1st-inning single, while his 9th-inning groundout plated STEVEN KWAN (triple)…Tarik Skubal skattered just 3 hits across his 6.0 frames (6.0IP, 3H, 1R-ER, BB, 7SO).

Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the 8th thanks to a 4th-inning skyball off the bat of Andy Ibáñez that Cleveland’s OF lost sight of, the Guardians offense put together a 4-run game-winning rally to salvage a 4-1 victory in the nightcap…after striking out in 6 consecutive plate appearances, BRAYAN ROCCHIO finally put Cleveland on the board with an RBI-single in the 8th…WILL BRENNAN later delivered a 2-run, go-ahead double, while GABRIEL ARIAS tacked on an RBI-single…XZAVION CURRY put forth one of his best performances of the season (6.0IP, 5H, 1R-ER, 2BB, 6SO, 81 pitches)…Joey Wentz, Detroit’s second southpaw starter of the day, tossed 5.0 scoreless frames.

Cleveland (59-64) sits in 2nd place in AL Central standings, 5.0 games behind 2nd-place Minnesota (64-59) and 3.5 games ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (-8.5G, 55-67)…despite dropping 13 of last 20, Guardians have still won 27 of 53, 34 of 66 and 38 of last 74…have also dropped 58 of last 108 overall since starting year 9-6.

NOW BATTING FOR CLEVELAND, NUMBER 24…
Manny Ramirez (1993-2000) and Dale Mitchell (1946-1956) will be inducted into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame tonight as the 46th and 47th members…the Guardians Hall of Fame, established in 1951 as the first team Hall of Fame in baseball, will celebrate the 18th induction class.

Ramirez, the 13th overall pick in the 1991 MLB Draft out of George Washington High School (New York, NY), was a mainstay on the late 1990s Cleveland clubs…during his eight seasons with Cleveland, Ramirez became one of baseball’s most feared sluggers…a member of two AL Champion and five Central Division title teams, Ramirez was runner-up for the 1994 AL Rookie of the Year…Manny represented the club in four All-Star games and was awarded three Silver Slugger awards while in a Cleveland uniform…he ranks among qualified franchise leaders in SLG (.592, 1st), OPS (.998, 1st) HR (236, 3rd), OBP (.407, 3rd), RBI (804, 8th) and extra-base hits (484, 10th)…his 165 RBI during the 1999 season is a franchise record.

Mitchell, a 1948 World Series champion outfielder, spent nearly his entire career with the Indians, during that time he represented the club in two All-Star games…in 1949, Mitchell led the AL in hits and triples…his 23 triples ranks 2nd-most in a season all-time for Cleveland…his .312 career batting average ranks 14th in franchise history…Mitchell finished in the top-5 in AL batting average three times…he anchored the outfield during his time, finishing three seasons with the best fielding pct. for an AL left fielder…before his career with Cleveland, Mitchell served in the Army Air Force as a quartermaster from 1942-1945.

START ME UP! I’ll NEVER STOP.
Cleveland’s starting rotation currently possesses a 3.90 ERA (290ER/669.0IP) this season, ranking 7th in the AL/8th in MLB…the pitching staff’s 13 shutouts this season are 1st in the AL and 2nd in MLB, trailing Atlanta (14)…in the second half, the Guardians starting rotation has held opponents to 2-or-fewer earned runs in
26 of its 33 starts since July 14 and have lasted 5.0-or-more innings in 27 of their 33 starts since the All-Star break, with 3 of those 6 outings being XZAVION CURRY’s spot starts…the 2.86 ERA from the rotation (57ER/179.1IP) to start the second half is the lowest in MLB, 38 points lower than the next-best team (Toronto,
3.24)…the table above shows how Cleveland’s starting pitching ranks among MLB teams since the All-Star break.

WELCOME TO CLASE, I’M YOUR CLOSER, EMMANUEL
Last night, EMMANUEL CLASE notched his 100th career save and 99th career save with Cleveland…his 99 saves with the Guardians are 6th-most in club history and 5 saves away from tying José Mesa (104) for 5th-most in club history…his 33 saves this season lead the AL and is tied with CIN’s Alexis Diaz and SF’s Camilo Doval for most in MLB…his 57 appearances this season ranks T2nd in the AL/MLB with 3 other players, trailing SEA’s Matt Brash (61)…in 18 appearances against the AL Central this season, Clase has limited divisional opponents to a 0.52 ERA (1ER/17.1IP) and a .209 average, both of which are his lowest against any AL division…in his career, Clase has a 1.43 ERA (14ER/88.1IP) and .201 average against the AL Central…against Detroit alone, he has a career 0.92 ERA (2ER/19.2IP) with 22 strikeouts and 11 saves.

KOLE-BLOODED
Entering tonight, KOLE CALHOUN is on a 6-game hit streak and has registered a base hit in 9 of his 11 games played with Cleveland this season…the 35-year-old is hitting .391 (9-for-23) while slashing .462/.435/.896 with 3 runs scored, a double and 3 RBI during his 6-game run…Calhoun also had a 6-game hit streak last season for Texas (5/17-5/22/2022) and is looking for his first 7+ game hit streak since July 30-August 8, 2021 (8 games) when he was with the Diamondbacks…his 3 hits in yesterday’s doubleheader led all Guardians hitters.

RUN ON ME. I DARE YOU.
The Guardians have 21 outfield assists this season, 5th in the American League and T7th in MLB with 3 other teams…the club’s 52 outfield assists since the start of last season rank 2nd in the AL behind Kansas City (53) and 3rd in MLB behind Cincinnati (56).

Cleveland is the only team in MLB with 3 players ranking in the top 20 in outfield assists this season…WILL BRENNAN (8) is T8th, while RAMÓN LAUREANO and MYLES STRAW are T20th with 6 assists apiece.

Since 2022, STEVEN KWAN (36) leads all LFs, Straw (19) ranks 2nd among CFs & Laureano (12) ranks 5th, and Brennan (7) ranks T12th among RFs in defensive runs saved…as a team, Cleveland’s 14 DRS lead MLB, 2 ahead of Chicago-NL (12).

TONIGHT’S STARTER – #61 TANNER BIBEE RHP

BIBEE AT HOME
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 5-1 1.70 9 9 53.0 36 12 10 16 53
Career 5-1 1.70 9 9 53.0 36 12 10 16 53

BIBEE’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 9-2 2.90 19 19 108.2 96 37 35 35 106
Career 9-2 2.90 19 19 108.2 96 37 35 35 106

TONIGHT’S START
The 24 year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his 20th career start, 10th at home, in the 3rd matchup of this 4-game series with the Detroit Tigers…Bibee has faced Detroit once, allowing 4 earned runs over 3.2 innings on May 8 at Progressive Field…is 1-1 with a 4.87 ERA (11ER/20.1IP) in 4 starts against the AL Central.

Bibee ranks among MLB rookie starting pitchers (min. 65.0IP) in win percentage (.818, 1st), wins (9, T1st), ERA (2.90, 2nd) and strikeouts (106, 3rd)…he and HOU’s J.P. France are the only rookies to win 7 straight decisions this season.

He was originally selected by Cleveland in the 5th round (156th overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal State Fullerton…entered the 2023 season as Cleveland’s #5 prospect according to MLB.com…he is starting on extended 5 days’ rest; is 4-2 with a 2.86 ERA (18ER/56.2IP) in 10 starts on 5 days’ rest.

LAST TIME OUT
Bibee took the hill against the Rays in his previous start on Sunday in Tampa and earned his ninth win of the season in a 9-2 Cleveland victory…he allowed 2 runs (earned) on 7 hits with 5 strikeouts and 0 walks across 7.0 innings…his only marks came on an RBI-single from Yandy Diaz in the 3rd frame and a sacrifice fly from Harold Ramirez in the 6th inning…he has now worked 7.0 innings and not walked any batters in back-to-back starts.

He became the second rookie in franchise history to win 9 of their first 11 career decisions as a starter, last done by Duster Mails (9- 2) from 1920-21…he is also the first Cleveland rookie to win 9 of their first 11 overall decisions (including relief appearances) since Luis Tiant (9-2) in 1964.

THESE ARE MY TOOLS
Since June 24, Bibee is 6-0 with a 1.79 ERA (11ER/55.1IP) in 9 starts, leading MLB in ERA during the stretch, ahead of SD’s Blake Snell (1.80)…is holding hitters to a .213 batting average (43-for202) and a .584 OPS during the stretch…has allowed 2-or-fewer runs in 8 of his last 9 starts…since June 24, he has recorded a quality start in 6 of his 9 outings and has a total of 9 on the season.

Over his last 9 outings, his 4-seam fastball is holding hitters to a .189 average (18-for-95) with 23 strikeouts…his breaking balls have had success as well, limiting hitters to a .195 average (15- for-77) with 22 strikeouts and an average exit velocity of 84.8mph during the span…overall this season, opposing batters are hitting .232 (33-for-142) against his breaking balls and .231 (46-for-199) against his fastball (Baseball Savant).

THE SUMMER OF TANNER
Bibee has won 7 consecutive decisions, becoming the third rookie in franchise history to do so…the only other Cleveland rookie hurlers to win 7-or-more consecutive decisions are Gene Bearden (7) in 1948 and Wes Ferrell (10) in 1929…Bibee is the 10th pitcher in AL history to post 100+ strikeouts and a sub-3.00 ERA within their first 19 career starts, last done by Michael Fulmer for Detroit in 2016 and last done by a Cleveland pitcher in 1964 when Luis Tiant turned the trick…Bibee is the first pitcher in Cleveland history and the 7th pitcher in MLB history to make 17 starts of 5.0+ innings and 3-or-fewer runs within their first 19 career starts, last done by NYY’s Masahiro Tanaka in 2014.

His 109 strikeouts within his first 19 career games rank 5th in club history, trailing SHANE BIEBER (109) Greg Swindell (112), Danny Salazar (118) and Herb Score (144)…owns the 3rd-lowest ERA (2.90, min. 15 GS) through a Cleveland pitcher’s first 19 outings, trailing Tiant (2.83) and Addie Joss (2.83).