The Detroit Tigers opened up their West Coast road trip on Friday night with a 13-1 blowout victory over the Athletics in Sacramento. Max Clark shined in his major league debut and the bullpen successfully shut down the opponents.
On Saturday night, the Motor City Kitties can clinch the weekend series behind left-hander Framber Valdez, who struggled in three of his four games last month. Over the course of July, the 32-year-old posted a brutal 7.13 ERA but a much more respectable 4.74 FIP, serving
up 21 hits (two home runs) and seven walks while striking out 15 and hitting four batters over a 17 2/3-inning stretch.
For the Athletics, right-hander Jack Perkins will take the mound to make his ninth start in 27 total appearances this summer. Since becoming a starter (with one relief appearance against the Tigers mixed in), the 26-year-old has put up a 7.14 ERA and a 5.63 FIP spanning over 40 1/3 innings of work, allowing 39 hits (10 home runs) and 20 walks while striking out 47 and hitting a pair of batters.
Here is a quick look at how the two match up on paper.
Detroit Tigers (52-58) vs. Athletics (45-65)
Time (ET): 9:40 p.m.
Place: Sutter Health Park, Sacramento, California
SB Nation Site: Athletics Nation
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 111: LHP Framber Valdez (5-7, 4.53 ERA) vs. RHP Jack Perkins (2-6, 6.45 ERA)
VALDEZ
PERKINS
