After bumpy start, Detroit Tigers continue road trip in SoCal against Angels

After back to back sweeps at the hands of the Phillies and Mariners, the Detroit Tigers head to Anaheim to face the Angels in hopes of ending yet another rough losing skid.

As the Detroit Tigers continue their western road trip, they once again find themselves hampered by a losing streak. Losing six in a row and being 1-9 in their last ten games, the Tigers head into SoCal to face the Los Angeles Angels looking for any sort of positivity despite the season looking to be possibly the worst in the history of the organization.

Taking the mound for the Detroit Tigers in game one of the three-game series on Monday night is the struggling Jordan Zimmermann. Through 13 starts this year, Zimmermann is 0-8 with a 7.57 ERA, on pace for yet another disappointing season since joining Detroit in 2016.

Zimmermann has been experiencing a particularly tough stretch as of late, failing to make it through five innings in four consecutive starts. Along with that, the right-hander has a 14.09 ERA in the month of July so far but travels to an Anaheim ballpark where he has just a 2.70 career ERA.

Of course, when any team goes up against the Angels, the player to watch is LA’s Mike Trout. Trout has been on an absolute tear through the month of July trying to make a case for a third career MVP season.

Through 19 games this month, Trout has 12 home runs, 28 RBI, and is batting .297 with a 1.258 OPS. With Zimmermann having a rough month on the mound, this matchup in game one of the series could mean serious trouble for the Detroit Tigers.

One Tiger to keep an eye on Monday night and throughout the series is Niko Goodrum. Despite losing four in a row in Seattle, Niko had a solid weekend recording a hit in each of the four games against the Mariners and knocked in an RBI on Saturday and Sunday, bringing his season total up to 35.

With the trade deadline just a couple of days away, the Detroit Tigers should be looking to make the best of the few games they have left with guys like Shane Greene and Nicholas Castellanos. Monday night’s series opener is set for 10:07 pm EST and will be broadcast live nationwide on YouTube.