All of the Cubs who left the 2016 World Series have returned to Wrigley Field after the big sellout in 2021, with two exceptions: Anthony Rizzo, who will return with the Yankees next month, and Javier Báez.
So I’m sure the Cubs will do a video tribute to Javy and he’ll be given a warm welcome. After that, Javy will probably have another miserable year at bat.
As you probably know, Ashley MacLennan, who writes some of the Outside the Confines articles for BCB, also writes for our SB Nation Tigers site Bless You Boys. So I asked Ashley to write something about the Tigers and here’s what she came up with.
The Detroit Tigers are having an interesting season for a club that has been in rebuilding mode for nearly a decade. Although the team is still hovering under the .500 mark and fourth in the AL Central, they’ve also had glorious fights of late, winning series against strong contenders like the Mariners and Yankees. The Tigers currently have one of the youngest rosters in baseball, and their overall thoroughness can show at times, but it’s a team that certainly offers glorious moments. Parker Meadows might commit embarrassing blunders at center in the absence of All-Star Riley Greene, but he’ll also hit incredible home runs or heroically save balls from flying over the fence. (It’s worth noting that while Greene was out on the IL, he’ll be back for the Cubs series, as he returned on Sunday.)
The team has been unlucky with injuries, losing Greene, Kerry Carpenter (who is also back and looking better than ever) and Casey Mize (who is making progress in rehab). Basically, this is an exciting team full of promise that just hasn’t found its stride yet. It’s also a team that traded away a lot of pitchers at the deadline, so expect some bullpen games that could really go either way. The Tigers are currently playing with virtually only a two-man starting rotation, with Cy Young contender Tarik Skubal a dominant force to be reckoned with and the inexperienced Keider Montero showing signs of promise. Reese Olson remains on the 15-day IL, while Casey Mize is on the 60-day IL and Kenta Maeda was moved to the bullpen (which was necessary given his rocky start to the season). But the Tigers are somehow managing to get something done, at least for now, with a rotating roster of bullpen players who they want to get as many innings out of as possible.
If the Cubs can raid the Detroit bullpen, they’ll get lucky against the club, but young arms and youthful enthusiasm have plenty of appeal with this Motown team right now, especially with the arrival of highly touted prospects Jackson Jobe and Trey Sweeney. The Tigers and Cubs have identical records of 61-64 before this series, so it should be a fairly even and interesting game.
Things to know
The Cubs have an overall record of 13-21 against the Tigers, a winning percentage of just .382. That’s their second-lowest record against any of the 53 MLB teams they’ve played since 1876. Against the Yankees (6-16), they have a winning percentage of .273. Their only other percentage under .400 is .388 against the 19th-century Orioles (38-60).
The Cubs are 4-9 at home against the Tigers, their worst record against an American League team. They are 4-7 against the Yankees. Their only other losing record is 35-38 against the White Sox.
This is the first series between the Cubs and Tigers at Wrigley Field since July 3-4, 2018, when the Cubs won twice. Since then, they have met in four series in Detroit, including August 21-23 of last year, when the Cubs won two of three games.
(Courtesy of JohnW53 of BCB)
Probable pitching matchups
Tuesday: Javier Assad, RHP (5-3, 3.19 ERA, 1.370 WHIP, 4.53 FIP) vs. TBD
Wednesday: Jameson Taillon, RHP (8-7, 3.62 ERA, 1.184 WHIP, 3.99 FIP) vs. TBD
Thursday: Justin Steele, LHP (3-5, 3.10 ERA, 1.095 WHIP, 3.23 FIP) vs. TBD
Well, this is a first, a series preview here — just five hours before the first game of the series begins — with exactly zero opponent starters listed. As Ashley noted, the Tigers are basically playing with a two-man rotation and the rest of the schedule is bullpen games. As always, we’re waiting for developments. Hopefully, by the time today’s game preview is published, at least today’s starter will be available.
Times & TV channels
Tuesday: 7:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Wednesday: 7:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Thursday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
forecast
As Ashley noted, the Tigers have had good series against the Yankees and Mariners recently, but I still think the Cubs will win two out of three here.
Next
The Cubs travel to Miami to play a three-game series against the Marlins starting Friday night.
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