The Detroit Tigers visit the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night at PNC Park. First pitch is set for 6:40 PM ET. This is the first game of a three-game interleague series between teams heading in different directions. Detroit has the best record in the majors at 60-40, while Pittsburgh sits at 39-61.
The Tigers come into this one off a 2-1 win over Texas that stopped a six-game losing streak. The Pirates have dropped three straight and 11 of their last 12. Paul Skenes gets the start for Pittsburgh and will be matched up against Detroit right-hander Jack Flaherty. Skenes just pitched in his second straight All-Star Game and has been one of the best arms in the National League.
Tigers Preview – Looking to Get the Bats Going
Detroit leads MLB in wins but has struggled on offense lately. The Tigers scored just three total runs over their last three games in Texas. They are averaging 4.85 runs per game on the year but have been shut down by good pitching this past week.
Jack Flaherty will take the mound for Detroit. He is 5-9 with a 4.65 ERA. In five July starts, Flaherty is 1-4 with a 6.57 ERA and has not earned a win since early June. He has 33 strikeouts in his last 27.2 innings but has also allowed 18 earned runs in that span.
Flaherty has a strong track record against Pittsburgh from his time with the Cardinals. He is 10-1 in 17 career appearances with a 2.75 ERA. The Tigers will look for him to eat innings and keep the game close as they try to find offensive rhythm. Riley Greene and Gleyber Torres were both held hitless in the All-Star Game by Skenes, so both will be looking for better at-bats Monday night.
Pirates Preview – Can Skenes Stop the Skid?
Paul Skenes has a 4-8 record but a strong 2.01 ERA. He has struck out 131 batters over 121 innings and started the All-Star Game with a clean inning. He’s allowed only two earned runs over his last two starts and hasn’t given up more than three earned runs since June 5.
Skenes hasn’t pitched deep into games lately. The Pirates have been monitoring his innings and he hasn’t gone more than five frames in any of his last four starts. Still, his command and velocity remain strong, and he’s holding hitters to a .199 average for the year.
The problem for Pittsburgh is scoring. They average just 3.33 runs per game, one of the lowest in baseball. The Pirates have not scored more than four runs in any of their last six games. Skenes is getting only 2.54 runs of support per start, tied for lowest in the NL among regular starters. They’ll need someone in the middle of the order to produce early if they want to hang with the Tigers.
Betting Prediction
Detroit enters as the road favorite behind Flaherty, but the total is low due to both starting pitchers. The Tigers are 60-40 and have a team ERA of 3.70. They are 50-45 to the over this year, including a 7.65-unit return on the over in road games. The Pirates are trending under, with the game total going under in 52 of their last 88 games.
Detroit has won five of the last six matchups with Pittsburgh and averages nearly five runs per game in those contests. Skenes has held the Tigers to three runs or fewer in two previous starts but is still searching for run support. With Pittsburgh struggling and Detroit coming off a confidence-boosting win, the Tigers are the better side. Look for a low-scoring game with Detroit doing just enough to win 4-2.
Pick: Tigers -130
