Detroit Tigers vs. New York Mets: Live updates as Justin Verlander returns to Detroit
Detroit Tigers (12-17) vs. New York Mets (16-15)
When: 1:10 p.m. Thursday.
Where: Comerica Park in Detroit.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1; Tigers radio affiliates).
Starting pitchers: Tigers LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-2, 2.21 ERA) vs. Mets RHP Justin Verlander (season debut; 18-4, 1.75 ERA in 2022).
Tigers lineup:
CF Riley Greene
SS Javier Baez
3B Nick Maton
DH Eric Haase
2B Andy Ibanez
P Eduardo Rodriguez
WEDNESDAY'S GAME 1: Detroit Tigers' Javier Báez, Eric Haase crush first homers in 6-5 win over New York Mets
WEDNESDAY'S GAME 2: Tigers chase Max Scherzer in fourth inning en route to 8-1 win
JEFF SEIDEL: Why it's both cool and cruel to see Verlander and Scherzer back in Detroit — with the Mets
Game notes: Justin Verlander makes his 2023 season debut — and his New York Mets debut — back where it all started, nearly 18 years ago. Of course, Verlander has changed a lot since then, off the field — he’s a family man now, married to wife Kate Upton with 4-year-old daughter Genevieve — and on the mound.
Whereas J.V. earned his “Must-See” sobriquet with the Tigers on the strength of his four-seam fastball, which he threw well over 50% of the time, he picked up the 2022 AL Cy Young Award on the strength of his breaking pitches — most notably his slider, which he threw 28.3% of the time last season, and his curve (18.8%). Well, and that fastball — with hitters worrying about the other pitches, Verlander’s fastball (which still averaged 95 mph) delivered a minus-24 run value. That’s not quite what it was in 2017 (-32) or 2018 (-35), but it was still the most effective four-seamer in the majors last season, topping Carlos Rodón’s and Nestor Cortes’ heaters, both at minus-22.
For the Tigers, meanwhile, Eduardo Rodriguez doesn’t rely on his four-seamer nearly as much, though he has thrown it 38..5% of the time in 2023. E-Rod has backed that with his cutter, throwing that pitch 25.2% of the time — up from 24.4% last season — for a minus-5 run value (his most effective pitch, and already the equal of his four-seamer last season). E-Rod has mostly fared well against the Mets’ current roster, with only Tommy Pham, Francisco Lindor, Eduardo Escobar, Brandon Nimmo and Tomás Nido having a hit off him in their careers.
After today’s series finale, the Tigers ship out to St. Louis for a three-game set with the Cardinals on Friday-Sunday, 55 years after the two teams met in the 1968 World Series (and, yes, nearly 17 years after they met in the 2006 World Series). The Mets, meanwhile, head back to Queens to host the Colorado Rockies for a three-game set over the weekend.
FINGER PAINTING: Why Detroit Tigers' Eduardo Rodriguez has mostly ditched PitchCom and gone old-fashioned
TIGERS NEWSLETTER: Welcome back, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers vs. New York Mets: Live updates as Verlander returns
