Detroit Tigers lineup vs. Pirates: SS Javier Baez back, 3B Zach McKinstry for P Reese Olson
Detroit Tigers (6-3) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (8-2)
When: 6:40 p.m. on Monday.
Where: PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Weather report: High of 71 degrees and mostly cloudy, 6-10 mph winds, less than 5% chance of rain
Probable pitchers: Tigers RHP Reese Olson (0-0, 0.0 ERA) vs. Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (0-1, 6.55 ERA)
Tigers' lineup:
CF Parker Meadows
LF Riley Greene
1B Spencer Torkelson
DH Kerry Carpenter
2B Colt Keith
RF Matt Vierling
SS Javier Baez
3B Zach McKinstry
C Jake Rogers
P Reese Olson
LAST GAME: Bats stay cold as Detroit Tigers drop first home series in 7-1 loss to Oakland Athletics
Game notes: The Tigers are back on the road for a short trip following a sour start to the 2024 home campaign. Detroit took the home opener over the Oakland Athletics on Friday, but their bats went ice cold on Saturday and Sunday, as the Tigers scored just one total run.
The Tigers only scored six runs in the three-game series, with five of them coming in the 5-4 win in the home opener Friday, and went 16 innings straight without scoring until Riley Greene's homerun late in the game three loss. Detroit will look to get back on track in the two-game set at Pittsburgh, who has hit the ground running with an 8-2 start to the year.
Reese Olson will be back on the mound for the Tigers after delivering a strong performance against the Mets to start his first full season in the MLB. In his first start, Olson pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings and allowed just three hits to go along with three strikeouts and finished with a no-decision in a game Detroit ultimately won 5-0 with an extra-innings outburst in Queens.
The offense, which is currently 27th in the MLB in runs scored (29), will try to get back on track against Keller, who is the top rotation arm for the Pirates. Keller struggled in his first two starts of the season, giving up four earned runs and exiting before the end of the sixth inning in each start. The Pirates have had success at the plate, scoring the fourth-most runs (59) and recording the third-most hits (100) so far in the young season.
The two games in Pittsburgh will be the sixth and seventh games played by the Tigers in six days dating back to last Thursday after rainouts pushed the Mets series into a doubleheader on a scheduled off day before returning for the opening home series. The Tigers will play Monday and Tuesday in Pittsburgh then return to Detroit for an extended home stand after a scheduled off day Wednesday to face the Minnesota Twins and reigning World Series champions Texas Rangers in back-to-back four-game series.
Live updates
For updates from and around the diamond, check it out on X.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers lineup vs. Pirates: Javier Baez back, 3B Zach McKinstry
