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Red Sox vs Tigers series preview: Back home to get back on track

By Chris Embree |
Oct 2, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Members of the 2004 2007 2013 World Series team as well as current players gather in the infield as part of pregame ceremonies in honor of designated hitter David Ortiz (34) before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Members of the 2004 2007 2013 World Series team as well as current players gather in the infield as part of pregame ceremonies in honor of designated hitter David Ortiz (34) before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox (29-23) host the Detroit Tigers (29-30) for a three-game weekend series at Fenway Park looking for their first series win of the month.

The Boston Red Sox continue to struggle against the better teams. After getting a relatively good start from Drew Pomeranz in the first game of the series, Rick Porcello and David Price had a couple of rough starts against the Yankees.

The Red Sox are now 3 games out of first place in the AL East after dropping two out of three in New York..

The Detroit Tigers have been playing .500 ball all year. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez have struggled at the plate and they have had untimely injuries. When these teams met in early April, the Tigers were able to win 2 out of 3 games.

Pitching Matchups

Friday, June 9 at 7:10 PM – Brian Johnson (2-0, 2.57 ERA) vs Jordan Zimmermann (5-4, 5.98 ERA)

Saturday, June 10 at 7:15 PM – Chris Sale (7-2, 2.89 ERA) vs Justin Verlander (4-4, 4.63 ERA)

Sunday, June 11 8:00 PM – Drew Pomeranz (6-3, 4.03 ERA) vs Daniel Norris (2-4, 4.48 ERA)

Series Notes

  • Fellow aces Chris Sale and Justin Verlander will be facing each other again this series. They faced each other the first time these two teams played, with the Tiger winning 2-1. I wrote last week how Chris Sale has been struggling of late, but Verlander has not been himself this year. That being said, I fully expect these two to bring the best out in each other like they did the last time.

    • Drew Pomeranz is very slowly making the trade for him look better. He obviously got off to a terrible start in Boston. Between his struggles last year and the way he started this year, Pomeranz was not making the trade look good. In his last 5 starts, Pomeranz has gone 3-1 with an ERA of 2.52 and has struck out 35 batters. Pomeranz is starting to look like the Drew Pomeranz from before the All-Star break last year.

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  • Brian Johnson is making his return to the mound. The last start he made he threw a complete game shutout against the Seattle Mariners. After his start, he was sent down to Pawtucket to make room for David Price. Then, he was pulled from one of his starts due to hamstring tightness. The bottom line is that Johnson has been cleared to pitch and will get a good opportunity to continue to impress John Farrell and the front office.
  • Jordan Zimmermann will be opposing Brian Johnson on Friday. Zimmermann has not been the pitcher he was in Washington. Since signing with the Tigers, he has an ERA of 5.28 and a WHIP of 1.437. The days of being a consistent No. 2 starter seem to be way behind him. If the Red Sox want to get back on track, they will need to take advantage of Zimmermann.

    • Key Hitters

    Boston Red Sox: Mookie Betts

    2017 Season (30 Games): .342/.394/.427, 0 HR, 9 RBI

    Career vs Detroit Tigers (12 Games): .176/.250/.255, 0 HR, 3 RBI

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    Plain and simple, Mookie has not looked like the MVP-caliber player he was last year. Over the last month he has hit a meager .196, to go along with a .268 OBP. He hit well out of the leadoff spot last year, but this year is not the same.

    Mookie is obviously important to the offense. If he is doing well, then the Red Sox are usually doing well. Hopefully Mookie will be able to turn his season around against the Tigers.

    Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera

    2017 Season (35 Games): .271/.381/.422, 5 HR, 27 RBI

    Career vs Red Sox (63 Games): .314/.410/.531, 11 HR, 38 RBI

    Like I said earlier, Miggy has not been the same Miggy we are used to. He is starting to get up there in age, but he has never really showed signs of slowing down. He still hits in the middle of the order, and is surprisingly the qualified team leader in batting average.

    Cabrera has hit the Sox well in the past, so look for him to turn his start to turn his season around.

    Next: Return of Yankees rivalry brings excitement to AL East race

    Check back with BoSox Injection prior to the start of every Red Sox series this season for our preview!

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