Joe Saunders (14-7, 3.67) vs. Chris Lambert (0-1, 6.75)
With 25 games remaining, the Detroit Tigers have to go 15-10 just to finish with a .500 record. There's a sentence I didn't think I'd be typing this season.
I can't remember if I've written about this at BYB before, but in high school, I played on a recreation league basketball team that was absolutely terrible. Awful. We were so bad that a couple of us would be on the bench at the beginning of the game (we weren't so bad that I was a starter) wondering how far we should fall behind before calling time-out. 10-0? 20-0? 25-0?
I have similar feelings before this series begins. How long can the Tigers hang with the Angels? And at what point does the TV get switched to another channel?
But if the Tigers are going to win at least one game in this series, Joe Saunders might give them a chance tonight. He's winless in his last five starts, and in his last two appearances, he's given up 12 runs and 17 hits in 6 2/3 innings. And of the two games Detroit has won against the Angels this season, Saunders was the losing pitcher in one of them.
Chris Lambert returns after a quick roster accommodation trip to the minors for his second major league start. The first one didn't go so well, though some inept play by the Tigers' defense was a significant factor in a decisive, destructive third inning vs. the Indians. Barring a complete meltdown or Dontrelle Willis and/or Freddy Garcia being added to the rotation, it's difficult to imagine Lambert not starting games for the Tigers for the rest of this season.
Halos Heaven has your SB Nation opposing view for this three-game series.