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Detroit Tigers: Soto must face red hot Astros after rough debut

By Michael Adzima

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 11: Gregory Soto #65 of the Detroit Tigers delivers a pitch in his major league debut against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of game two of a doubleheader on May 11, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 11: Gregory Soto #65 of the Detroit Tigers delivers a pitch in his major league debut against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of game two of a doubleheader on May 11, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Gregory Soto will take the mound in Wednesday night’s series finale for the Tigers as they try to avoid being swept by Houston.

Last week, the Detroit Tigers decided to call up left-handed starter Gregory Soto all the way from Double-A Erie to the major leagues. The move was made in order to provide some aid to a Tigers’ starting rotation ravaged by injuries. Detroit is in desperate need of help on the mound, but Soto’s debut was lackluster to say the least.

Soto allowed seven runs on nine hits in just four innings during his MLB debut on Saturday night against the Twins in Minnesota. Many thought that Wednesday night would be the Tigers’ first experiment with a “bullpen day” considering the current lack of starting arms. Instead, the team has decided that Soto will start the series finale against the Astros.

The high powered Houston Astros offense has given the Detroit Tigers quite a bit of trouble the past couple of nights. Matt Boyd had his shortest start of the season on Monday night as Houston drove in three runs on five hits causing the lefty to last just four innings. Rookie right-hander Ryan Carpenter only made it through four innings as well on Tuesday night getting shelled for seven earned runs on nine hits.

Detroit threw Carpenter into the fire Tuesday night having the young pitcher take the mound against the powerful Astros. Gregory Soto finds himself in a similar situation going into Wednesday as manager Ron Gardenhire gets to see how the 24-year-old fares against one of the MLB’s elite squads.

To add even more pressure to Soto, the rookie now has to face former Tiger Justin Verlander who will take the mound for Houston. Verlander is off to a hot start in 2019 with a 2.52 ERA and 6-1 record through nine starts this season.

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Wednesday night will certainly be a tough test for the rookie Soto. The Tigers need all the help they can get right now when it comes to starting pitching, which means young arms must be tested against some of the best bats in the major leagues.

First pitch in Wednesday’s series finale between the Tigers and Astros is set for 7:10 pm from Comerica Park.

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