The Detroit Tigers’ road series against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field was cut short on Sunday by bad weather, resulting in a de facto sweep by the home team over the two games they did manage to play. It is a bit of a shame, since the Guards would have been without their three best hitters, but it is what it is.
Next up, the Motor City Kitties head to Houston to face the Astros for the second leg of their current road trip, seeking to snap their two-game losing streak. The ‘Stros have
not been very good this season so far but are coming off a series win over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman despite dropping the final game on Sunday.
To open things up, right-hander Troy Melton will take the mound for the Olde English D looking to continue his tightwire act so far this season. The 25-year-old has looked pretty decent this year as far as outcomes are concerned, but his FIP is 5.36 (vs 2.81 ERA) and his strikeout rate sits at 13.7% (3rd percentile) while accumulating zero fWAR in 25.2 innings.
However, the Tigers are 3-1 when he starts, so one cannot complain as long as the wins keep stacking up.
Melton has faced Houston just once in his young career — a perfect one-inning appearance last year on Aug. 18 in which he threw just nine pitches, with six going for strikes, resulting in one strikeout. His team went on to win that one, 10-0.
Opposite him is fellow righty Kai-Wei Teng, who permanently moved from his relief role in mid-May to a starter and has made a total of seven starts so far. The 27-year-old’s last three appearances have been unimpressive to say the least, posting a 7.71 ERA and 6.39 FIP over 14 innings of work, allowing 17 hits (three home runs) and nine walks — plus a pair of hit batters — while striking out 13 over that stretch.
Monday will be Teng’s first-ever appearance against the Olde English D.
Take a look below at how the two match up in the opener of the weekday series at Daikin Park.
Detroit Tigers (29-42) vs. Houston Astros (33-40)
Time (ET): 8:10 p.m.
Place: Daikin Park, Houston, Texas
SB Nation Site: The Crawfish Boxes
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 73: RHP Troy Melton (3-0, 2.81 ERA) vs. RHP Kai-Wei Teng (3-5, 3.71 ERA)
MELTON
TENG
