DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS DROP SERIES FINALE TO TWINS: The Tigers lost to the Twins, 6-3, in 10 innings on Sunday. Zach McKinstry drove in a pair of runs and went 1×3 with a double, while Kerry Carpenter added a hit and a RBI. Michael Lorenzen started for Detroit, throwing 5.0 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits with a walk and four strikeouts. Tyler Holton fanned three in 1.1 perfect innings and Alex Lange worked a scoreless inning with two walks.

ROSTER MOVES: The Tigers have announced the following roster moves:
*Following yesterday’s game, optioned INF Nick Maton to Triple A Toledo

*Recalled INF Tyler Nevin from Triple A Toledo

VIERLING STAYS HOT: Matt Vierling reached base three times in yesterday’s series finale against the Twins, going 1×2 with two walks. Since coming off the injured list on June 12, Vierling is slashing .400/.500/.733 with one double, three home runs and six RBI.

HOLTEN PUTTING UP ZEROS: Tyler Holton continued to pitch well out of the Tigers bullpen yesterday, pitching 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. In eight appearances in June, Holton has a 0.77 ERA (11.2IP/1ER) and 14 strikeouts. Among American League relief pitchers with at least 30.0 innings, he ranks sixth in WHIP (0.95), eighth in ERA (2.08) and 10th in opponent batting average (.187).

RECAPPING THE HOMESTAND: The Tigers went 3-3 on their recently completed six-game homestand, going 2-1 vs. Kansas City and 1-2 vs. Minnesota. Detroit hit .219/.289/.292 over the six games, while the pitching staff combined for a 2.78 ERA (55.0IP/17ER). Individually, Eric Haase went 4×11 with a double and four RBI and Matt Sierling finished the homestand 3×9 with two RBI.

TIGERS AND RANGERS: The Tigers and Rangers continue their season series tonight. The two teams played earlier this season in Detroit with Texas winning two-of-three-games. The Tigers won the season series from the Rangers last season 4-3, including winning two-of-three games in Arlington.

ON THE ROAD: The Tigers tonight begin a seven-game road trip, which includes four games at Texas (June 26-29) and three games at Colorado (June 30-July 2). Detroit is 15-22 on the road this season. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .215/.286/.338 away from Comerica Park, while the pitching staff has compiled a 4.13 ERA (320.2IP/147ER).

INJURY REHAB UPDATES: Beau Brieske and Trey Wingenter each made an injury rehab appearance with Triple A Toledo yesterday. Brieske started for the Mud Hens, allowing a hit and striking out one in a scoreless inning. Trey Wingenter also threw a shutout inning, walking one.

TIGERS ON THE IL:

• OF Akil Baddoo (right quad strain, 10-day IL on June 10)
• RHP Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort, 60-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)
• RHP Alex Faedo (right middle finger discomfort, 15-day IL on June 3, retroactive to May 31)
• OF Riley Greene (left fibula stress reaction, 10-day IL on May 31)
• RHP Matt Manning (right foot fracture, 60-day IL on April 12)
• 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)
• LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (left index finger pulley rupture, 15-day IL on May 30, retroactive to May 29)
• LHP Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain, 60-day IL on March 14)
• RHP Spencer Turnbull (neck discomfort, 60- day IL on May 12, retroactive to May 7)
• RHP Trey Wingenter (right biceps tendinitis, 60-day IL on April 22, retroactive to April 19)

TONIGHT’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER

48 Matthew Boyd • 5-5, 5.37 ERA (70.1IP/42ER)

• Boyd will make his 15th start of the season tonight in the series opener at Texas.
• Earned his fifth win of the season in his last start on Wednesday vs. Kansas City, allowing two runs on six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings.
• Has faced the Rangers 10 times in his career, including nine starts, and has a 1-7 record with a 6.39 ERA (50.2IP/36ER) and 46 strikeouts… will be making his first career appearance at Globe Life Field, the 23rd active Major League ballpark he has pitched in.
• Struck out a season-high nine batters and allowed one run on three hits with no walks in 5.0 innings on June 4 at Chicago (AL).
• Is in his second stint with the Tigers…was with the organization from 2015-21, appearing in 147 games, including 143 starts, and compiling a 37-60 record with a 4.87 ERA (777.2IP/421ER) and 752 strikeouts.

TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:

WINS AND LOSSES: Texas lost to the Yankees yesterday, 5-3, and club finished with a 3-3 record on the 6-G, 7-day road trip to CWS (2-1) and NYY (1-2) that preceded this homestand…Rangers have lost 2 straight and 3 of 5, but are still 5-3 in last 8 G after a 2-7 span from 6/7-16…have a 7-10 record last 17 G beg. 6/7…team is 12-10 in June, and has won 14 of 25, 18 of 30, 21 of 34, and 29 of last 46 G (beg. 5/6)…team still has A.L.-best 33-19 (.635) record since 4/28, 2nd in MLB to only ATL (33-18, .647)…TEX is 39-24 in last 63 G and 43-26 last 69 G beg. 4/9.

• At 47-30 (.610), TEX owns the 4th-best record in MLB to TB (.667, 54-27) and ATL (.649, 50-27)…club’s 47 wins rank T3rd in MLB (54-TB, 50-ATL, 47-TEX/ARI/BAL).
• The 47-30 mark is T3rd-best 77-G start to a season in

WSH/TEX franchise history (see chart below).

• TEX is 17 G above .500, 3 shy of matching season high point of 20-over (40-20 after win 6/6 vs. STL)…it was team’s most games above .500 since end of 2016 (95-67) and the earliest date/fewest games (6/6 and 60 G) ever to reach that mark.

SERIES STUFF: TEX dropped the series in New York over the weekend and have now lost 3 of last 5 series after a stretch of 6 straight series victories from 5/19-6/7…those 6 straight series wins marked longest span for team since club-record 10 straight series victories from 5/20-6/20/16… club is 17-7-1 overall in series this year, going 8-3-1 at home and 9-4-0 on the road…is 13-4-1 in last 18 series and 16-5-1 in last 22…TEX has gone 7-2-1 in last 10 series at GLF.

AT HOME: TEX is 24-13 (.649) at home, 2nd-best home record in A.L./MLB (TB: .778, 34-10)…marks TEX’s best 37-G start at home since 2019 (25-12), and is T4th-best mark after 37 home games in team history (see chart)…club has won 2 straight and 3 of last 5 at GLF, but is 3-5 in last 8 G at home… TEX has still won 11 of 16, 12 of 18, 16 of 24, and 21 of last 32 at GLF beg. 4/5…TEX is 110-119 all-time record at GLF (2020-23), 30-20 last 50 G here beg. 9/11/22.

• Texas leads MLB in R/G (6.41) at home in 2023, 2nd in MLB in runs at home (237) to only TB (258), which has played 7 more home contests…club’s 61 HR at home in 2023 are 4thmost in MLB to only TB (68), NYY (67), and ATL (63).

VS. DETROIT: TEX went 2-1 from 5/29-31 at DET, losing the finale…TEX went 3-4 vs. DET in 2022, and have lost consecutive season series (1-6 in 2021)…club won the season series in previous 5 straight years from ’15-’19…Rangers are just 2-4 vs. DET all-time at GLF, losing 3 of last 4 and dropping both series here…TEX trails all-time series (251-255).

THE SEAGER SESSIONS: Corey Seager had a 1st-inning RBI yesterday at NYY…he now has 46 RBI this season, 4th-most among Rangers and T14th in the A.L. for the year, this despite playing in only 46 of the club’s 77 games (59.7%) due to a month-plus IL stint for a strained left hamstring… Seager’s .512 BA (22-43) with RISP is the highest among MLB qualifiers this year.

• Although his last multi-hit game was on Tues. at CWS, Seager is still batting .347/.391/.639/1.031 (51-147) with 9 HR, 16 2B, and 42 RBI in 35 G since being activated from the IL on 5/17…he leads MLB with 16 doubles and 42 RBI since 5/17, 10 more RBI than any other player (Shohei Ohtani-32)… Seager ranks 2nd in MLB in both OPS and TB in that span, trailing only Ohtani (1.103/101).

MANY HITS: Yesterday was the Rangers’ MLB-high 41st game with 10+ hits this season, 5 more than any other club (36-TB), as the Rangers continue to lead the Majors in BA (.272), hits (735), and runs (458)…batters have out-hit opponents in each of the club’s last 4 losses beg. 6/16, accounting for 4 of the team’s 9 losses all season when out-hitting the opposition…Texas is 41-9 this season when having more hits than opponents.

• Texas recorded 10 left on base in each of the 3 G in New York over the weekend, scoring 7 total runs while going 7-for30 (.233) with RISP, including 4-for-19 (.211) in the back-to-back losses.

LATE LOSS: Texas allowed 3 R in the 8th inning yesterday to lose…it was the Rangers’ 6th loss when leading after 7 innings this season, T2nd-most in MLB (7-SD, 6-TEX/LAA)… prior to the 8th yesterday, TEX relievers had totaled 7.1 scoreless innings to open the Yankees series.

NO DUB: Nathan Eovaldi (5.2 IP, 2 R-ER) took a no decision yesterday at NYY despite exiting with a 3-2 lead in his matchup with Gerrit Cole…over the last 7 starts in which TEX starters have posted 5.2+ IP with 2-ER-or-less allowed, the team has a 4-3 record…over the 1st 29 such starts this season, the team produced a 25-4 record.

THE HARD PART: The Texas offense chased Gerrit Cole in the 5th inning yesterday (4.2 IP) in the ace’s shortest outing of the season…it was just the 6th time this season that Texas has lost despite limiting the opposing starter to less than 5 innings, as the Rangers are now 20-6 in such games in 2023.

THE LONG WAY: Tonight’s game begins an 8-G, 8-day homestand against DET (4 G) and HOU (4 G), playing back-to-back 4-G series in the final homestand before the All-Star break…from 6/23-7/9, the Rangers are scheduled to play for 17 straight days leading into the All-Star break…it is part of a span of Texas playing for 30 of the final 31 days prior to the break from 6/9-7/9.

SHORTS: TEX is 2-1-0 in 4-G series entering the pair of 4-G sets this homestand…are 3-1 in last 4 G on Mondays…TEX out-scored DET 17-9 in clubs’ 1st series this year…Rangers had 5 doubles yesterday and lead MLB w/ 56 doubles in June…club ranks 3rd in MLB with 168 doubles in ’23 (177- BOS, 169-COL, 168-TEX)…Rangers’ .990 (19 E/1859 TC) fielding pct. since 4/27 is 2nd-best in MLB to only BAL (higher .990), multiple errors in just one of 52 G in that span.

TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #44 Andrew Heaney, LHP (5-4, 3.98)

TONIGHT: The 32 year old left-hander is scheduled to make his 15th appearance/start of the season in tonight’s homestand opener against the Tigers in Arlington…is 1-1, 4.67 ERA (9 ER/17.1 IP) in 4 starts this month to raise his season ERA from 3.76 to 3.98…is still 5-3, 3.23 (25 ER/69.2 IP) over his last 13 starts beg. 4/10…has posted quality starts in 4 of 8 and 6 of his last 11 outings, as his 6 QS this season are 4th-most among Texas pitchers (9-Eovaldi, 7-Gray/ Pérez)…9.46 strikeouts per 9.0 innings figure would rank 13th in A.L. if he qualified…will pitch on extra 6 days’ rest after earning his 1st win of June in Texas’ 5-2 victory last Mon. at CWS (see ‘Last Start’)…Heaney is in his first season with Texas after signing a two-year free agent contract with the club on 12/9/22… is seeking to build on a 2022 campaign in which he produced career bests in ERA (3.10), WHIP (1.087), and strikeout rate (13.6 SO/9) with the Los Angeles Dodgers despite being limited by a pair of Injured List stints…the 9-year MLB veteran has appeared in 151 games/140 starts with Miami (2014), Los Angeles-AL (2015-21), New York-AL (2021), Los Angeles-NL (2022), and Texas (2023)…an Oklahoma City native, Heaney pitched collegiately at Oklahoma State University before being selected by the Miami Marlins in the first round (9th overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft…Texas has gone 9-5 in Heaney’s 14 starts this season.

AS OF LATE: After surrendering season-high 7 R-ER in his Rangers debut on 4/4 vs. BAL (L, 2.2 IP, 7 R-ER), Heaney has gone 5-3 with a 3.23 ERA (25 ER/69.2 IP), 74 SO/29 BB, and a .216 opp. BA (55-255) in his last 13 starts (beg. 4/10)… that stretch has cut his season ERA from a season-high 23.63 to 3.98…he ranks among A.L. qualifiers over that period in ERA (11th), SO/9 (11th, 9.56), and opp. BA (12th)…he is 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA (9 ER/17.1 IP) over 4 starts in June, but is still 3-1, 2.72 ERA (11 ER/36.1 IP) in his last 7 starts dating back to 5/14.

TOUGH ON LEFT: Left-handed batters have slashed .122/.280/.146/.426 (5-41) with just one extra-base hit (2B) against Heaney in 2023…his .132 opp. BA allowed vs. lefties is the 5th-lowest mark in the A.L. (min. 50 LHB faced)…Heaney has held LHB to a .186/.297/.275/.571 (19-102) slash line and just one HR (Jake Cronenworth on 9/11/22 at SD w/ LAD) over the last 2 seasons (beg. 2022).

LAST START: Earned his 1st win of June in Texas’ 5-2 victory on Mon. at CWS (W, 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER, 0 BB, 6 SO, 2 HR, 1 HBP, 90 pitches/62 strikes)…marked the 9-year anniversary of his MLB debut on 6/19/14 vs. NYM w/ LAA…was scoreless through 5.0 frames before allowing back-to-back solo home runs to Andrew Vaughn and Luis Robert Jr. with 2 outs in the 6th…exited after Robert’s HR with 2 outs in the 6th, and remained in line for the win, leading 3-2…it was Heaney’s 1st outing of the season in which he did not issue a walk.

VS. DETROIT: Has gone 1-1, 9.00 ERA (10 ER/10.0 IP) in 2 career games/starts vs. Detroit, both of which came with the Angels in 2018…has not faced the Tigers since start on 8/7/18 vs. DET (W, 5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R-ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR).

• Heaney is 9-2, 4.02 ERA (56 ER/125.1 IP) in 24 G/22 GS in his career against A.L. Central clubs…he is unbeaten (4-0) with a 4.01 ERA (22 ER/49.1 IP) in last 11 G/9 GS vs. the division (beg. 5/18/21), including 2-0, 1.69 (2 ER/10.2 IP) in a pair of starts this season on 4/10 vs. KC and 6/19 at CWS.

AT HOME: Has seen far better ERA results in his 6 starts on the road (2-2, 2.55 ERA) than in his 8 starts in Arlington (3-2, 5.35 ERA) this season…opponents are slashing .185/.263/.355/.618 (23-124) with 5 HR in his road outings compared to .267/.372/.466/.838 (39-146) with 7 HR at Globe Life Field…has gone 1-0, 2.84 ERA (4 ER/12.2 IP) in last 3 GS in Arlington (beg. 5/21), with TEX going 3-0.

2023: Opponents are batting .230 (62-270) w/ 12 HR, including a .122 (5-41) mark with one XBH (2B) for LH batters…20 of 36 runs allowed in ‘23 have come in the 2nd (9) or 3rd (11) inning…opp. BA/OPS by time through lineup: 1st (.274/.768), 2nd (.189/.649), 3rd (.226/.859)…12 HR allowed are 2nd-most among Rangers (13-Pérez)…6.47 run support average is 8th-highest in A.L. (min. 50.0 IP)…Jonah Heim has caught 10 starts (2.44 ERA), and Sandy León (7.59 ERA) and Mitch Garver (11.37 ERA) have each caught 2 starts…earned 1st road win of season on 5/27 at BAL (W, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER), posting 1st ultra-quality start of the season…held O’s scoreless over 1st 6 frames.