Detroit Tigers at St. Louis Cardinals series preview

The Detroit Tigers head to St. Louis to take on a struggling Cardinals team

After a surprising sweep of the New York Mets, the Detroit Tigers head down to St. Louis to take on a Cardinals squad that is off to a historically bad start.

The Tigers defeated both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in their sweep of the Mets. They shelled Scherzer, and they got to JV before he settled in. Eduardo Rodriguez was stellar once again in game 3 of that series, pitching eight innings of shutout baseball. The Tigers could get a haul for him at the trade deadline if he keeps pitching like this.

Javier Baez continued his hot stretch as well, hitting his first two home runs of the season in that series. Since he was benched against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 13, he's sporting a .905 OPS, a 153 wRC+, and a 0.9 fWAR.

The Tigers are now 13-17 as they head out on the road. Now, let's talk about the Redbirds.

Opponent breakdown: St. Louis Cardinals

Woof. What the heck is going on in St. Louis? The Cardinals come into this series with a record of 10-22—dead last in the NL Central and the worst record in the National League. They just got swept by the Los Angeles Angels. They have lost their last six games.

Star third baseman Nolan Arenado is off to a horrid start. He has just a 69 wRC+ so far this season. Some have speculated that he is playing through an injury.

What is even more concerning is their starting pitching. It's been one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball. Their starters have an ERA of 5.48 so far this year—fourth-worst in the National League.

The Cardinals were heavily favored to win the NL Central before the season started. Instead, they're off to their worst start in a long time.

Pitching matchups

Friday: LHP Matthew Boyd vs. (1-2, 5.47 ERA) vs. LHP Jordan Montgomery (2-4, 3.34 ERA)

Saturday: RHP Spencer Turnbull (1-4, 6.84 ERA) vs. RHP Adam Wainwright (0-0)

Sunday: TBA vs. LHP Steven Matz (0-4, 6.39 ERA)