Detroit Tigers host Philadelphia Phillies for short series

The Detroit Tigers are hosting the Philadelphia Phillies at home for a short two-game series. Here’s what to watch out for.

The Detroit Tigers are playing a short two-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies at home tonight at 7:10 EST and tomorrow at 1:10 EST. The Tigers are fresh off of snapping a six-game losing streak, and the Phillies are looking to get things turned around to make a playoff run in the National League East or Wild Card.

Tonight’s starting pitchers will be Aaron Nola for the Phillies and Matthew Boyd for the Tigers. Both pitchers have comparable ERAs, with Nola’s being a tad better at 3.77. While Nola has been hittable this season, he has still amassed a win-loss record of 8-2 on the season. The Tigers will have their work cut out for them on offense, and Boyd will need to have a good outing.

Tomorrow the pitching matchup is scheduled to be Vince Velasquez for the Phillies and Jordan Zimmermann for the Tigers. Both of these pitchers have struggled throughout the year with Velasquez at a 2-5 record and a 4.87 ERA and Zimmermann at a 0-7 record and a 7.51 ERA. Look for both offenses to be aggressive in this one.

With the trade deadline just over a week away, these will be important games for both teams. Boyd and Castellanos have been on the hot stove for a while now and will be looking to continue their strong performances to get value out of future contracts. The Phillies will most likely be looking to buy, if anything, in order to make a playoff run.

For this series, in addition to Boyd, keep an eye on Nicholas Castellanos and Shane Greene. These are the other players that the Tigers will likely look to trade for young prospects or established stars. Having strong performances in this series could factor into how much trade value Detroit can get out of them.

This should be a fun series to watch. While the Detroit Tigers will probably not make a playoff push this season, they will still want to try to win and develop their young talent. Playing spoiler for other teams is also always fun. Detroit will probably not see young Phillie stars like Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins for a long time, so enjoy watching them while they are here!