Detroit Tigers Schedule: Previewing the Rest of May

Detroit Tigers players have turned things around. After a sluggish stretch in which the team lost 11 of 12 games, the team has won four games in a row. Here’s a look at what the schedule holds for May.

Detroit Tigers fans were probably relieved when the team swept the Minnesota Twins. The sweep put the Tigers back on track where the season is concerned. What’s more, it also confirmed that Detroit can win games against inferior teams.

The Tigers are now 6-0 against the Twins on the season, but they’ll need to improve against quality competition as the year progresses.

During the aforementioned losing streak, Detroit was swept by Cleveland (unfortunately for the second time this season) and the Texas Rangers. The stretch also saw the Tigers drop two of three games against both the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles.

Luckily, the rest of the month of May will provide Detroit with chances to prove the team’s worth against some teams that aren’t cellar dwellers like the Twins.

During the final days of May, the Tigers will play the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies at home before hitting the road for a six-game road trip out west to take on the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Here’s a preview.

Tampa Bay Rays

Friday’s opener against the Tampa Bay Rays brings a different challenge for the Tigers after sweeping the Twins. While Tampa is sitting at .500, the Rays are always a tough draw.

The American League East club, as per usual, features a solid pitching staff. Jake Odorizzi and former Tiger Drew Smyly both sport ERAs under 4.00, while Chris Archer and Matt Moore are much better than their relatively high ERAs (4.38 and 5.09 respectively) would indicate.

The quality pitching also carries over to the bullpen, where closer Alex Colome (1.77 FIP and 24 strikeouts in 17.1 IP) headline a solid group. In addition to Colome, swingman Erasmo Ramirez has also been excellent. The former Mariner owns a 1.89 ERA in 33.1 innings pitched. So far this season, the righty has finished four games and started one in 17 appearances.

Also available to pitch out of the bullpen are Enny Romero (2.93 ERA), Steve Geltz (4.30 ERA), Xavier Cedeno (3.86 ERA) and Ryan Webb (3.75 ERA).

If Detroit can put some runs up against the manager Kevin Cash’s pitching staff, the Tigers could be in a position to extend the team’s four-game winning streak.

Tampa Bay fields one of the league’s worst offenses. The Rays have quality players like Evan Longoria, Corey Dickerson and Steve Pearce, it’s just that the team hasn’t been able to put it all together.

Of the team’s regulars, four are hitting under .200, and only one player has an on-base percentage over .320—currently injured second baseman Logan Forsythe. By comparison, Detroit has five players with on-base percentages over .340. That number could be six if Cameron Maybin had been healthy from Opening Day onwards.

Detroit will face Matt Andriese, Drew Smyly and Chris Archer. Anibal Sanchez, Michael Fulmer and Jordan Zimmermann will start for the Tigers.

Oakland Athletics

Unlike the Rays and Phillies, the Oakland Athletics are a known commodity to the Tigers this season. Detroit took three of four from the A’s in a home series in late April.

The Tigers will now make the return trip to the Bay Area, and hopefully achieve a similar result.

As it stands, the A’s are currently 19-23 and five games back of first place in the American League West. While Oakland has a similar record to the Tigers, the Athletics’ run differential suggests a different story. Only the Twins at -68 have a worse run differential in the American League than the A’s -42.

As the run differential would suggest, Oakland has trouble putting runs on offense.  The A’s are ranked towards the middle of the pack in both runs scored and runs per game, but they have the fifth-worst team on-base percentage in the league. In other words, if Tigers pitching is up to task, Detroit can have some success.

Michael Fulmer is slated to start the first game of the series against fellow highly-touted youngster Sean Manaea. Following that, Jordan Zimmermann will take the mound and face Jesse Hahn, while Mike Pelfrey will wrap up the series against Rich Hill. Pelfrey lost to Hill in the only game that Oakland won in the first series between the two teams.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Detroit Tigers finish up the month of May on the road against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Considering that the Angels are already decimated by injuries, the Tigers have a chance to finish May on a high note.

As of now, the Angels are without almost half a roster’s worth of players due to injury. Key offseason acquisition Andrelton Simmons is out with a thumb injury, while outfielders Craig Gentry and Daniel Nava are also on the disabled list. Rounding out the list of injured position players is starting catcher Geovany Soto.

On the pitching side of things, Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney and C.J. Wilson are all absent from the rotation due to injuries, as is closer Huston Street.

Add in the facts that Jered Weaver’s FIP has ballooned to 5.68 and is only averaging 5.2 strikeouts per nine innings and Albert Pujols is only hitting .224 and you realize that things aren’t the best in Anaheim.

The Angels may have the same number of wins as the Tigers, but those numbers aren’t likely to stay the same as the season progresses. Detroit is, if not a better team, a much more complete team.

Next: Detroit's First 40 Games

Detroit’s three-game set with the Angels will stretch into the beginning of June, but the Tigers will get two games in with the Halos before May ends. Justin Verlander will match up with Jhoulys Chacin in the first game of the series, while Anibal Sanchez takes on Hector Santiago.