Detroit Tigers defeat Houston Astros, 6-3: Game thread replay
Detroit Tigers (1-3) vs. Houston Astros (2-3)
When: 8:10 p.m. Tuesday.
Where: Minute Maid Park in Houston.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1 in Detroit; other Tigers radio affiliates).
Starting pitchers: Tigers RHP Matt Manning (2-3, 3.43 ERA in 2022) vs. Astros LHP Framber Valdez (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 2023).
Tigers lineup:
RF Matt Vierling
SS Javier Báez
CF Riley Greene
1B Spencer Torkelson
LF Eric Haase
DH Miguel Cabrera
3B Jonathan Schoop
C Jake Rogers
2B Ryan Kreidler
P Matt Manning
READ MORE: It's only three games, but Tigers in 2023 look no different than last year's team
MONDAY'S GAME: Late HRs by Riley Greene, Matt Vierling give Detroit Tigers 7-6 win over Houston Astros
Game notes: It’s a question we asked far, far too many times last season, but what happens when the unstoppable force meets the very, very movable object? Likely nothing good for the Tigers offense, which goes into a matchup with Astros lefty Framber Valdez that, on paper, seems fairly one-sided.
Valdez relies heavily on his sinker and curveball to induce groundballs. He threw the sinker 49% of the time last season and the curve 28%; in his first start this season for the Astros, last Thursday against the White Sox, he upped that to 55.3% and 28.2%, respectively — 47 sinkers, 24 curves, nine changeups and five cutters. (He also has a four-seam fastball, but he threw it just 3.6% of the time last season.) And for good reason: his sinker is effective, as it was worth minus-four runs last season, but his curve is devastating: minus-11 runs, second in the majors behind only Arizona’s Zac Gallen.
And those groundballs? Last year, he induced grounders in an MLB-high 66.5% of his balls in play, then upped that to 70.6% against the ChiSox. That doesn’t bode well for a Tigers squad that entered Monday pounding 50.8% of their balls in play — the fifth-highest percentage in the majors — into the dirt this season. (The Atlanta Braves were No. 1, at 56.1%; we suspect they’ll snap out of it.)
But don’t take our word for it; Valdez faced the Tigers twice last season, giving up two runs in 15 innings — a 1.20 ERA — and allowed just 15 hits and two walks. In all, he faced 59 batters and got 27 groundballs: 50.8%. The only reason it wasn’t higher? Valdez turned into a strikeout machine, racking up 15 Tigers in all.
At the other end of the spectrum, we have Matt Manning, who allowed flyballs in 28.7% of his balls in play last season. That would have ranked eighth in the majors last season, had Manning picked up the innings to make the league leader board — just ahead of Gerrit Cole (28.6%) and Justin Verlander (28.5%) and just behind Robbie Ray (28.9%). Obviously, pitchers can succeed, and even thrive, while allowing a high percentage of flyballs. Then again, those other three guys have stellar stuff, with at least three effective pitches. Manning … does not. His fastball is plus (with a minus-eight run value), but his slider is inconsistent (minus-1 runs). All we’re saying, we guess, is that the folks in the outfield stands at the juice box they call a big-league park in Houston can probably take a bathroom break or hit the concession stands when one of these two pitchers is on the mound. You can guess which one.
The Tigers and Astros wrap up their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon at 2:10 p.m. with a matchup between lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (Detroit’s Opening Day starter) and righty Cristian Javier, who was roughed up by the ChiSox last Friday. Afterwards, the Tigers come home for their home opener — the real Opening Day, amirite? — against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, while the Astros head to Minnesota for the Twins’ home opener, also on Thursday.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers defeat Houston Astros, 6-3: Game thread replay
