Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Indians: Game Time, TV/Radio Coverage, Lineup

May 20, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Detroit Tigers first baseman

Miguel Cabrera

(24) reacts with Cleveland Indians second baseman

Mike Aviles

(4) after hitting a double in the fourth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

You could look at the Detroit Tigers as having lost two-straight games, but you could also look at them as having won six of their last eight. Despite stubbing their toe and dropping this series to Cleveland, the Tigers head into Wednesday with the best record in baseball, a 6.0 game lead in the division, and a +50 run differential on the season.

Detroit Tigers (27-14) at Cleveland Indians (21-25) — 12:05 PM EDT

Progressive Field — Cleveland, OH

TV: FSD

Radio: 97.1 The Ticket (click for radio affiliates)

Weather: 69 degrees, partly cloudy

When We Last Met

Justin Verlander was unusually erratic on Tuesday night and took a beating as the Tigers went on to lose to the Indians 6-2. Verlander somehow pushed through six innings, but allowed 11 hits, three walks, and five runs against just two strikeouts in the process.

On the other side of the field Trevor Bauer wasn’t spectacular — he allowed 10 base runners and two home runs — but managed to allow just the two runs over his six innings of work.

Pitching Matchup

Zach McAllister‘s ERA stands at 5.36 this season, but don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s been bad. His peripheral rate stats are solid but he’s been burned by a lower-than-normal strand rate of 59% (league average for starters is nearer 72%). He’s not a tremendous starting pitcher by any stretch, but he is average-ish, which is solid enough.

Max Scherzer has been Max Scherzer is something we say when we’ve run out of new things to say about the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. He’s been absolutely lights out this year with 73 strikeouts in 59 innings to go with a 1.83 ERA. He’s been slightly fortunate when it comes to recording outs on balls in play and stranding base runners, but his 2.78 FIP and 2.84 xFIP are still elite.

Schedule