I was supposed to be at two of these games, then life happened. LOL
When: 6:50 p.m. Monday.
Where: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1). (Tigers radio affiliates).
Weather report: Indoors.
Probables: Monday — LHP Tarik Skubal (2-0, 2.28) vs. RHP Zack Littell (1-0, 2.14); Tuesday — RHP Kenta Maeda (0-1, 7.64) vs. RHP Ryan Pepiot (2-2, 4.37); Wednesday — RHP Jack Flaherty (0-1, 4.44) vs. LHP Tyler Alexander (1-0, 4.79).
Scouting report
Skubal, Tigers: He’s holding hitters at .200 or under with all five of his pitches. His hard-hit rate (26.7%) and average exit velocity on balls put in play (84 mph) are among the top 10 percentile in baseball. When he’s gotten to two strikes on a hitter, they are 6 for 55 (.109) with 26 strikeouts.
Littell, Rays: He attacks with an elite slider and splitter and spots his four-seamer. Hitters are 3 for 25 against the slider with six strikeouts and 4 for 18 against the split with six strikeouts and a 32% whiff rate. He’s been tougher of left-handed hitters than right-handed hitters, which is because of the shape of those two pitches. Lefties are 2 for 18 against his slider and split.
Game notes: The Detroit Tigers started their season with a relatively manageable schedule, facing four straight teams who did not make the 2023 postseason. The Tigers navigated the early stretch well, going 7-4 through the 11 games to start the season.
Since then, the schedule has gotten much more difficult, with the Rays series being the fourth straight set the Tigers have played against teams who made the playoffs in 2023.
