DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS SPLIT SERIES WITH 8-7 WIN: The Tigers overcame an early four-run deficit to defeat the Twins, 8-7, on Wednesday afternoon. Riley Greene had three hits, including a triple and a home run, and drove in four, while Spencer Torkelson belted two solo home runs. Kerry Carpenter also had two hits, including a solo shot. Tyler Holton picked up the win in relief, throwing a perfect 2.1 innings with a career-high five strikeouts. Beau Brieske, Alex Lange and Will Vest each threw a scoreless frame in relief.

FULLY TORKED: Spencer Torkelson recorded his fourth multi-homer game of the season yesterday at Minnesota, hitting his 20th and 21st home runs of the season. Torkelson became the seventh Tigers player to hit 20-or-more homers in his age-23 season, joining Travis Fryman, Hank Greenberg, Willie Horton, Matt Nokes, Jason Thompson and Rudy York. Since June 27, he ranks third in the American League with 13 home runs, tied for third with 32 RBI and ninth with a .560 slugging percentage.

GREENE MEANS GO: Riley Greene posted his ninth three-hit game of the season yesterday, finishing a double shy of the cycle. Among American League hitters with at least 350 plate appearances this season, he ranks fourth with a .309 batting average and seventh with a .368 on-base percentage. Among all big leaguers age 23-or-younger, Greene is first in wRC+ (139) and sixth in fWAR (2.8).

KEEP CALM AND KERRY ON: Kerry Carpenter had a pair of hits, including a solo home run, his 16th of the season, on Wednesday against the Twins, extending his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games, which ranks as the second-longest active hitting streak in the American League, trailing only Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia (18 games). During his current streak, Carpenter is slashing .455/.500/.864 with three doubles, five home runs and seven RBI.

POWER SURGE: The Tigers hit four home runs in yesterday’s game at Minnesota, marking their 11th straight game with at least one homer. It’s Detroit’s longest single-season streak since a 13- game stretch from April 4-18, 2017.

ON THE ROAD: The Tigers are 2-3 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 (August 17-20). Detroit is 28-33 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 4.29 ERA (526.2IP/251ER).

TIGERS AND GUARDIANS: The Tigers and Guardians begin their third series of the season tonight. Detroit has won two-of-three games in each of the first two series. 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 22-14 against American League Central teams so far this season. The Tigers are 8-2-1 in their 11 series against division opponents this season. Detroit is looking to post its first winning record against the AL Central since 2016 (38-37).

INJURY REHAB UPDATE: RHP Mason Englert made an injury rehab appearance with Triple A Toledo last night, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings with two hits allowed, one walk and three strikeouts. Englert has been on the injured list since July 24 with left hip tightness.

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

29 Tarik Skubal • 2-2, 4.18 ERA (32.1IP/15ER)

• Skubal will make his eighth start of the season tonight in the series opener at Cleveland.
• Took the loss in his last start on Friday at Boston, allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
• Has faced the Guardians six times in his career, posting a 0-2 record with a 4.40 ERA (28.2IP/14ER) and 31 strikeouts…in three career starts at Progressive Field, Skubal is 0-1 with a 5.56 ERA (11.1IP/7ER) and 13 strikeouts.
• Picked up his first win of the season on July 24 vs. San Francisco, throwing 5.0 shutout innings with two hits allowed, no walks and nine strikeouts…was his first Major League win since July 21, 2022.
• Did not allow a run in his first two starts this season…had a streak of 27.0 innings without giving up an earned run, dating back to July 13, 2022.
• Made his season debut for Detroit on July 4 vs. Oakland, throwing 4.0 hitless innings with no walks and six strikeouts…his only baserunner came on a hit by pitch…marked his first start in the Majors since August 1, 2022 vs. Minnesota.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:

GUARDS END ROAD TRIP WITH LOSS AT CINCY
The Cleveland Guardians capped a brief 6-day, 5-game road trip with a 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park…Cleveland finished the trip at 2-3 through Tampa Bay (1-2) & Cincinnati (1-1), as the Ohio Cup will be decided when the Reds visit Progressive Field, Sept. 26-27…club has gone 11-8-4 over last 23 series (+2G above .500/37-35 record since May 26).

Cincinnati’s offense jumped on starter NOAH SYNDERGAARD for 6 runs to chase the right-hander prior to the end of the 5th (4.1IP, 8H, 6R-5ER, 2BB, 3SO, 2HR, HB, 97 pitches)…Syndergaard limited the damage across his first 3.0 frames to a 1st-inning RBI-double by Matt McLain before later allowing a pair of 2-run homers to Stuart Fairchild (5) and McLain (13) in Cincy’s 4-run 4th inning… from the No. 2 spot in the order, McLain joined lead-off man TJ Friedl to combine for 6 hits and 4 runs scored…Reds southpaw Andrew Abbott (5.0IP, 6H, 2R-ER, 0BB, 5SO, HR, 84 pitches) limited the Guardians to a pair of tallies…Cleveland got on the board in the 3rd, as MYLES STRAW reached on a lead-off single and then scored on a 2-out RBI-single from JOSÉ RAMÍREZ…GABRIEL ARIAS led off the 5th inning with his 7th homer of the season.

Cleveland (58-63) sits in 2nd place in AL Central standings, 4.5 games behind 2nd-place Minnesota (63-59) and 3.5 games ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (-8.0G, 54-66)…despite dropping 12 of last 18, Guardians have still won 26 of 51, 33 of 64 and 37 of last 72…have also dropped 57 of last 106 overall since starting year 9-6.

TAMING THE TIGERS
The Cleveland Guardians play host to the Detroit Tigers for this 4-game series at Progressive Field, the third of four series between the clubs this season…the Guards have dropped 4 of their 6 contests against the Tigers in 2023…the clubs most recently met from May 8-10 at Progressive Field…Detroit took the first game 6-2, before the Guardians won the second matchup, 2-0, behind 6.0-shutout innings from SHANE BIEBER…Detroit emerged victorious in the rubber match, winning 5-0…Cleveland has not lost a season series to Detroit since going 7-11 against the club in 2015.

Since the start of 2022, Cleveland is 12-13 against the Tigers with a 2-4-2 series record…during the Terry Francona era (since 2013), the Guardians hold a 108-77 against the Motor City Kitties, the most wins of any club against Detroit during that span, ahead of Minnesota (100)…Cleveland is 1,146-1,148 all-time against the
Tigers.

In 102 games against Detroit since 2017, JOSÉ RAMÍREZ is batting .321 (112-for-380) with 85 runs, 9 triples, 64 extra-base hits, 28 home runs, 97 RBI and 52 walks, leading all MLB hitters in each of category during that span…he also ranks 2nd in OPS (1.063) behind LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (1.138), T3rd in doubles with CWS’s TIm Anderson (27), and 4th in hits (122) against the Tigers since 2017…overall, in 135 career games against Detroit, Ramírez is batting .307 (149-for-486) with 28 home runs, 110 RBI and a .974 OPS.

START ME UP! I’ll NEVER STOP.
Cleveland’s starting rotation currently possesses a 3.91 ERA (286ER/658.0IP) this season, ranking 7th in the American League and 8th in MLB…the pitching staff’s 13 shutouts this season are T1st in MLB with Atlanta.

In the second half, the Guardians starting rotation has held opponents to 2-or-fewer earned runs in 25 of its 31 starts since July 14 and have lasted 5.0-or-more innings in 25 of their 31 starts since the All-Star break, with 3 of those 6 outings being XZAVION CURRY’s spot starts…the 2.83 ERA from the rotation (53ER/168.1IP) to start the second half is the lowest in MLB, 52 points lower than the next-best team (Toronto, 3.35)…the table above shows how Cleveland’s starting pitching ranks among MLB teams since the All-Star break.

The rookie trio of TANNER BIBEE, GAVIN WILLIAMS and LOGAN ALLEN has found its rhythm over this stretch…in his last 9 starts since June 24, Bibee is 6-0 while boasting a 1.79 ERA (11ER/55.1IP), leading MLB ahead of SD’s Blake Snell (1.80) during that span…over his 6 starts in the second half, Williams flaunts a 1.80 ERA (6ER/30.0IP), 4th in the American League and T5th in MLB with ChC’s Javier Assad over that period, while striking out 40 batters against 15 walks…Allen owns a 1.59 ERA (3ER/17.0IP) over his last 3 starts, including 6.0-shutout innings on Tuesday night…Williams (2.80, 2nd), Bibee (2.90, 3rd) and Allen (3.33, 9th) all rank in the top 10 of rookie starter ERA this season (min 50.0IP)…the three also rank top 10 in rookie starter bWAR with Bibee in 2nd (2.8), Williams in 5th (1.7) and Allen in 6th (1.6).

THE MAN AT THE TOP
Over the 5-game road trip, STEVEN KWAN hit .348 (8-for-23) with 2 triples, 3 RBI and 3 runs…in 30 games this second half, Kwan is hitting .298 (37-for-124) with 6 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs, 14 RBI and an .821 OPS…he has struck out just 10 times over this stretch while drawing 10 walks…his 37 hits in the second half rank
T5th in the American League with TEX’s Marcus Semien…he has played in all but one game since the break.

After seeing 4.05 pitches per plate appearance in the first half, he has seen 3.63 pitches/PA in his 30 games since the All-Star break, the largest difference on the club…he’s currently hitting .400 (14-for-35) with a .931 OPS on the first pitch…with the count 0-1, he owns a .296 (21-for-71) batting average…most notably, when the count is 1-0, Kwan is hitting .520 (13-for-25) with a 1.320 OPS.

THE ROOKIE-IO
BRAYAN ROCCHIO, Cleveland’s current #1 prospect, per MLB. com, recorded his first 3-hit game last night…after hitting .214 (3- for-14) in 4 games over 2 stints earlier this season (May 16-19, June 2-5), Rocchio owns a .316 batting average (12-for-38) with 4 doubles and 3 RBI in 11 games since being promoted on August 2…over that stretch, he’s seeing fastballs well, hitting .400 (6-for15) in at-bats in ending with the pitch…the rookie is hitting at a .308 clip (7-for-23) against right-handed pitching in his young career.

SAYING GOODBYE TO AN ALL-TIME GREAT
This series marks the last time Miguel Cabrera will play at Progressive Field…in 246 games against Cleveland, he owns a .309 batting average (281-for-909) with 50 home runs and 175 RBI…across 124 games at Progressive Field, he is hitting .300 (144-for-480) with 26 home runs and 88 RBI…his 26 home runs at Progressive Field are the most by an any opponent at the park… there will be an on-field presentation honoring Cabrera on Sunday before first pitch.

TONIGHT’S STARTER – #44 XZAVION CURRY RHP
CURRY AT HOME
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 2-0 2.65 15 2 34.0 27 11 10 10 24
Career 2-1 3.32 17 4 43.1 40 18 16 16 27

CURRY’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 3-1 3.39 30 5 69.0 63 28 26 19 46
Career 3-2 3.68 32 7 78.1 76 35 32 25 49

TONIGHT’S START
The 25-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his sixth start of the season, eighth of his career, in the opener of this 4-game set with the Detroit Tigers – the third of 4 series between the clubs this season…in 5 starts this year, he owns a 4.26 ERA (9ER/19.0IP)… his last relief appearance came on August 1 at Houston (1.0IP, 2H, 0R/ER, 3SO)…is pitching on extended 5 days’ rest; has one career start on 5 days’ rest with a 3.00 ERA (1ER/3.0IP).

Curry has served mainly as a reliever this season, owning a 3-0 record with a 3.06 ERA (17ER/50.0IP) in 25 relief appearances…16 of his relief appearances have been more than 1.0 inning…was selected in the 7th round (220th) of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Georgia Tech.

LAST TIME OUT
Curry’s last start came on August 11 in a 9-8 loss at Tampa Bay… he did not factor into the decision after 5.0 innings of work where he allowed 6 hits on 5 runs (earned) with 2 walks and a strikeout on a season-high 70 pitches…Curry faced the minimum in the first 2 innings and retired each of the first 7 hitters he faced before allowing 5 straight Rays hitters to reach base in the 3rd…a Josh Lowe single, Christian Bethancourt walk, Yandy Díaz RBI-double, Wander Franco 2-RBI single and Brandon Lowe walk resulted in 3 Tampa Bay runs…after a 1-2-3 4th and limiting Tampa to a Díaz single in the 5th, his outing came to an end after a Randy Arozarena double and Isaac Paredes 2-run home run…marked the fourth time that Curry lasted 5.0-or-more innings in an outing in his career and the second straight such outing.

THE X-FACTOR
Curry has faced the Tigers 3 previous times in his career, making one start…made his MLB debut on August 15, 2022 in a start against Detroit, allowing 3 runs (earned) on 8 hits with 3 strikeouts and one walk in 5.0 innings, in a 7-5 defeat…has a 4.00 ERA (4ER/9.0IP) in his career vs. the Tigers…has made 2 relief appearances of 2.0 innings apiece against the Motor City this season…is 0-1 with a 3.47 ERA (9ER/23.1IP) in his career against the AL Central and has a 2.95 ERA (6ER/18.1IP) this year against the division.

He has limited hitters to a .065 batting average, .121 OBP and .218 OPS in situations with RISP and 2 outs this season…he ranks among MLB pitchers in such situations this season (min. 30 BF) in OBP (.121, 1st), OPS (.218, 2nd), BABIP (.077, 2nd), batting average (.065, 3rd) and SLG (.218, 5th)…is also holding hitters to a .177 average (11-for-62) with RISP this season.

LIMITING LEFTIES
Over his last 11 outings since June 23, Curry has handcuffed left-handed hitters, holding them to just 7 hits in 47 at-bats (.149) and a .514 OPS…conversely, right-handed hitters own a .268 average (19-for-71) with a .891 OPS during that stretch…overall, lefties are hitting .212 (25-for-118) with a .561 OPS against Curry
this season while righties are batting .262 (38-for-145) with a .809 OPS, recording 7 of the 8 home runs he’s allowed this season.

CURRY’S ARSENAL
In 2023, Curry utilizes a traditional 4-pitch arsenal, primarily relying on his 4-seam fastball, adding in a curveball and slider as secondary offerings, and occasionally mixing in a changeup: