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It's the first interleague series of the season in an American League park which means the DH is in play. This will be the first time since 2009 that the Detroit Tigers have played host to the Milwaukee Brewers. In June that year the Tigers actually swept the Brewers in a three game series. Braden Looper, Dave Busch, and Yovani Gallardo were the losing pitchers in that series. Mat Gamel played third base in each game.
The Tigers are in second place in their division trailing the Royals by just one game. They've played really well this year and currently possess the 3rd best record in the AL. It will be no easy task to take this series. The Tigers and Royals are tied with the second best team wRC+ in baseball so they can definitely light up a pitching staff.
Offensive Spotlight
Miguel Cabrera had an uncharacteristically poor offensive season last year. He only slashed 313/371/524 (.384 wOBA, 147 wRC+). I'm not making a joke here. That's a bad season for him. He's ridiculous. It's hard to fathom, honestly. This year he's back to being good: 333/436/601 (.436 wOBA, 182 wRC+). I never recommend intentional walks but...The Brewers should walk this guy every time. Even if the bases are loaded, just walk him!
Pitching Match-Ups
Monday May 18, 6:08 pm CST: Mike Fiers vs Kyle Lobstein
Kyle Lobstein has been sort of a mixed bag for the Tigers. He's really only done one thing well and that's keep the ball in the park. He has a 0.25 HR/9. His 10.6 K% and 8.0 BB% is terrible. His .281 BAA and 1.44 WHIP is also bad. He mostly throws fastball (86-88), sinker, change. It's an odd combination but it has worked to keep the ball on the ground over half the time. He's a lefty so the Brewers should stack their righties against him.
Tuesday May 19, 6:08 pm CST: Jimmy Nelson vs Anibal Sanchez
Quite the opposite of Lobstein, Anibal Sanchez does a lot of things well, He has a good K%-BB% but he's allowed more home runs (1.06 HR/) and barely very few ground balls (35.1%). That's 10% below normal for him so that should stabilize in time. Sanchez throws 3 kinds of fastball (4-seam, cutter, split-finger) around 91-93 to go along with sinker, slider, curve, and occasional change. He might give the Brewers a problem.
Wednesday May 20, 6:08 pm CST: Kyle Lohse vs Shane Greene
Shane Greene has a nice mix of fastball (91-93), slider, curve, and change. He hasn't exactly gotten the results he'd like this year though. He's only striking out 14.7% of batters faced and allowing an opponent average of .253. He has kept the ball in the park (0.38 HR/9) and on the ground (49.3%).
Statistics courtesy of FanGraphs