All good things must come to an end, they say, and that applies to the Detroit Tigers as well. On Saturday afternoon, their four-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of the Seattle Mariners, who used some hard contact to hand Keider Montero and Co. a 4-0 loss at Comerica Park.
Never fear, the Motor City Kitties still have a chance to win their second-straight series on Sunday afternoon, but they will have to do it with right-hander Jack Flaherty on the mound. The good news is that the 30-year-old’s
last start against the Tampa Bay Rays was a tidy one, shutting out his opponent over five innings, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out six for his first win of the season — an 8-0 triumph in St. Pete.
Flaherty’s last appearance against Seattle came in the ALDS Game 5 last September, in which he tossed a pair of scoreless, hitless frames during the 13th and 14th innings en route to a 3-2 team loss. He also started Game 3, but fared quite a bit worse, surrendering four runs (three earned) on four hits (one home run) and three walks while striking out six across 3 1/3 innings in an 8-4 loss.
For the Mariners, fellow righty Luis Castillo will take the mound for his 10th start of the season. Two of the 33-year-old’s last appearances have come in relief, including his most recent outing in which he earned a blown save and a win after giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts over five frames against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Seattle.
Similarly to Flaherty, Castillo faced Detroit twice in the ALDS last fall — once as a starter and as a reliever. Across those two appearances, he held the Tigers to just one hit and four walks while striking out four over six scoreless frames, both resulting in team wins.
Here is how the two matchup in Sunday afternoon’s series finale.
Detroit Tigers (26-39) vs. Seattle Mariners (34-31)
Time (ET): 1:40 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site: Lookout Landing
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 66: RHP Jack Flaherty (1-7, 5.31 ERA) vs. RHP Luis Castillo (2-5, 5.53 ERA)
FLAHERTY
CASTILLO
