Detroit Tigers (68-58) at Tampa Bay Rays (69-56)
Probable Pitchers:
Monday August 22, 7:10p:
RHP Justin Verlander (18-5, 2.31, 204 K, 42 BB)
Hitter to Fear: B.J. Upton (8 for 15, 2 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Ben Zobrist (2 for 21, 6 K)
at
RHP Jeff Neimann (8-4, 3.29, 78 K, 23 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Jhonny Peralta (4 for 7, 1 3B, 1 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Victor Martinez (1 for 6, 1 K)
Tuesday August 23, 7:10p:
RHP Brad Penny (8-9, 4.97, 58 K, 47 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Casey Kotchman (2 for 6, 1 2B)
Hitter to Fail: Johnny Damon (0 for 6, 2 K)
at
LHP David Price (11-10, 3.59, 164 K, 43 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Victor Martinez (7 for 14, 1 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Miguel Cabrera (0 for 9, 5 K)
What to Watch For:
1. Tigers won't miss Price - With this being a 4-game series, the Tigers had little chance of missing Rays ace David Price. Though his wins and losses haven't lined up, he is 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA in his last 3 starts. He has also been pretty impressive against Detroit in his career, 3-0 with a 2.11 ERA and 25 strikeouts.
2. V-Mart and Peralta still on fire - The bats have yet to cool off for Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez and shortstop Jhonny Peralta. V-Mart is hitting .342 in his previous 10 games while Peralta is hitting .324. Jhonny is, however, 0 for 9 with 3 strikeouts against Tuesday night's starter David Price.
On Deck:
Tigers continue the Rays 4-game series on Wednesday and Thursday. Part 2 will publish Wednesday afternoon.
Tonight's game is MLB.tv's Free Game of the Day