Game 30 Preview: Tigers at Mariners

Detroit Tigers (15-14) at Seattle Mariners (14-18)

Time/Place: 10:00 p.m., SAFECO Field

SB Nation Blog: Lookout Landing

Media: Fox Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Pitching Matchup: Drew Smyly (1-0, 1.61 ERA) vs. Jason Vargas (3-2, 3.09 ERA)

ThirteenOfTwo on Vargas:

You know that thing that Jason Vargas did last time, the bit where he allowed four runs in seven innings and was completely bland and forgettable? Yeah, he's probably going to do pretty much the exact same thing again. At least, that's what he's done in literally every start so far this season. Consistency!

Vargas has only one start this season in which he didn't go at least 6 innings. Since the Tigers last saw him, he had solid outings against the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins, but fell victim to a lack of run support and only has a 0-1 record in that stretch to show for it.

Smyly's strand rate dropped to an actual number in his last start, but it's still extremely high at 94%. He might not give up his typical solo home run tonight in the cavernous confines of SAFECO Field, but with how pesky Seattle's lineup has been this series, we might see him give up a few more bloops than usual.

Outlook

Other than 9th inning bullpen implosions, the Tigers have been the better team in this series. Even with Justin Verlander's rough (for him, anyway) outing yesterday, the starting pitching has been excellent. I'm encouraged by the offense; those opportunities with runners on base will start to turn into hits, and the runs will come in bunches. As for Smyly's excellent start? I don't know. Just enjoy it, and enjoy the fact that he is the reason that the Tigers have one of the MLB's top 15 prospects marinating in the minor leagues.

Prediction

Miguel Cabrera breaks out of his mini-slump with a multi-hit game tonight.