Detroit Tigers go scoreless in 5-0 loss to Texas Rangers in series opener
Detroit Tigers (25-26) vs. Texas Rangers (33-19)
When: 1:10 p.m. Monday.
Where: Comerica Park in Detroit.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1 in Detroit; Tigers radio affiliates).
Starting pitchers: Tigers LHP Matthew Boyd (3-3, 5.74 ERA) vs. Rangers RHP Nathan Eovaldi (6-2, 2.60).
Tigers lineup: (Matt Vierling scratched from the lineup with back soreness. Zach Short replaces him)
1. RF Zach McKinstry
2. SS Javier Báez
3. CF Riley Greene
4. DH Spencer Torkelson
5. 2B Nick Maton
6. LF Akil Baddoo
7. C Eric Haase
8. 1B Andy Ibáñez
9. 3B Zack Short
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Game notes: It’s a matchup between the Rangers, the top team in the AL West, and the Tigers, the No. 2 team in the AL Central, with a special Memorial Day start time of 1:10 p.m. on Bally Sports Detroit — just the way we expected in March, right? (The Rangers and Tigers lost 190 games combined last season, by the way.) Then again, the Rangers’ Opening Day payroll was nearly $196 million, good for ninth in MLB, so maybe we should have expected it, slightly.
Texas, under new manager Bruce Bochy — whom you may remember from the San Francisco Giants’ 2012 World Series win over the Tigers, not that we’re bitter — features a mighty offense led by Adolis Garcia’s MLB-high 14 homers, as well as 11 homers from rookie third baseman Josh Jung, the older brother of Tigers prospect Jace Jung. Texas also has ex-Tiger Robbie Grossman in the outfield; he has a 286/.460/.536 slash line in his career against probable Tigers starter Matthew Boyd.
Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi — who signed a two-year, $34 million deal in Texas this past offseason — has delivered two complete games in his past five starts, after throwing two in his first 245 starts. He hasn’t faced many current Tigers despite spending his past seven seasons in the AL — but Jonathan Schoop is 4-for-14 in his career against him, with a homer in Eovaldi’s April 13, 2022, start at Comerica Park, and Akil Baddoo is 1-for-3, with a homer hit, yep, last season on April 13.
The Rangers and Tigers wrap up their three-game series with a night game Tuesday and another day game Wednesday. After that, the Tigers will get Thursday off before heading to Chicago for a three-game rematch against the White Sox, while the Rangers return home for a weekend series against AL West rival Seattle.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers go scoreless in 5-0 loss to Texas Rangers
