Detroit Tigers: Previewing the Minnesota Twins

Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire will come back to Minnesota for the first time as the Tigers take on the Twins, starting at 8:10 EST on Monday.

The Detroit Tigers (20-26) take on the AL Central rival Minnesota Twins (19-23) for a three-game set, Monday through Wednesday.

Here are the projected pitching match-ups for the mid-week series:

Monday, May 21 (8:10) Blaine Hardy vs. Jose Berrios

Tuesday, May 22 (8:10) Matthew Boyd vs. Lance Lynn

Wednesday, May 23 (1:10) Michael Fulmer vs. Kyle Gibson

The Tigers get a trio of right-handers this week, starting with young ace Jose Berrios. While his 4.05 ERA is rather pedestrian, the 23-year-old right-hander has electric stuff. He sports a 0.96 WHIP and 50 strikeouts in 53.1 innings and is coming off a 7.1 inning, 10 strikeout performance against the Cardinals last week. Hardy will be making his second career big league start on Monday, coming off a 4.1 inning, two run performance against the Mariners.

Tuesday features Detroit’s best pitcher, Matthew Boyd, squaring off against Minnesota’s worst arm in Lance Lynn. Lynn has looked terrible since signing with the Twins in the offseason. He sports a 7.47 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP, having surrendered 31 runs in just 37.1 innings of work. Meanwhile, lefty Matthew Boyd has increased the use of his slider and has seen outstanding results, currently posting a 3.19 ERA on the year.

Wednesday’s afternoon affair will feature Michael Fulmer and Kyle Gibson. Fulmer has not looked like himself lately, and now sports an ugly 4.35 ERA on the year. He will look to right the ship against Minnesota’s quiet ace Gibson, who has a 3.96 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 50 innings of work.

What to Watch Out For

Gardy’s coming home

Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire was the skipper for the Minnesota Twins from 2002-2014. His gig with the Tigers is his only other managerial position, so this will be a homecoming for the 60-year-old. Gardy managed a 1068-1039 record and was voted the Manager of the Year in 2010. It’s worth watching how the Minnesota crowd reacts to Gardy, although expectations are that he will be remembered fondly for leading a rather bleak time in the Twins franchise to a .507 winning percentage.

How long can Blaine Hardy last?

Even though the Tigers game on Sunday went into extra-innings, they were fortunate to only use three relievers, with none of them throwing over 16 pitches. That should mean a fresh bullpen for Hardy on Monday. Hardy tossed 4.1 innings in his last start back on May 13 against the Mariners. He’s only thrown once since then, a six-pitch outing on May 17. If Hardy pitches well, he could go five or even six innings for Detroit. But a short outing would really hurt Detroit’s bullpen depth for the rest of the series, which wouldn’t be ideal.

Can Detroit regain second place?

A three-game losing streak has the Tigers one game behind the Twins and 2.5 games back from the Indians for first place in the under-performing AL Central. The Twins just got back speedy center fielder Byron Buxton, who joins a surprisingly elite outfield alongside Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler. Detroit’s pitchers will need to have a solid week, as Minnesota’s hitting has been particularly strong lately. If Detroit can steal two out of three this week, they’ll find themselves back in second place in the central.

Next: The Best Tiger by Jersey Number

Another mid-week AL Central series begins for the Detroit Tigers on Monday evening. While the Tigers wait for Miguel Cabrera, Jeimer Candelario and Jordan Zimmermann to get healthy, look for the reserves to try to keep them within striking distance in the central.