The Detroit Tigers host the Washington Nationals in a 3-game weekday series

Back at Comerica Park last weekend, the Detroit Tigers had just one win in two tries, losing two of three to the Milwaukee Brewers. This series was full of offensive attacks by both teams. The Motor City Kitties now turn their attention to the second half of their current stadium, where they host the Washington Nationals in a three-game midweek series.

The Nats are currently in third place in the National League East, 15 games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies. They did quite decently on the road – in fact, better than at home – scoring 17-18 points away from the friendly Citizens Bank Park stadium.

The Tigers are fourth in the American League Central and, despite being just one game under .500, are 10.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in a league that has become surprisingly competitive. Detroit was a disappointment at home, 15-17, and on the road set a winning record of 17-16.

Take a look at the pitching matchups in the upcoming weekday series between Detroit and Philadelphia below.

Detroit Tigers (32-33) at Citizens of Washington (30-35)

Times (ET): Tuesday: 18:40; Wednesday: 18:40; Thursday: 13:10
Place: Comeric Park in Detroit, Michigan
SB National website: Federal baseball
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Match 66: RHP Kenta Maeda (2-2, 6.25 ERA) vs. LHP Mitchell Parker (4-3, 3.47 ERA)

Maeda threw only two pitches in his final game against the Texas Rangers before being pulled due to right abdominal discomfort. However, everything indicates that he will be ready for Tuesday’s game, but this is no consolation for Tigers fans. Nevertheless, the 36-year-old alternated between good and bad starts in May, earning a pair of wins, allowing just one run in 11 innings between the two teams, but he was also heavily bombed in the rest.

Parker is coming off an excellent rookie campaign in 2024, posting solid traditional numbers, including a 1.05 WHIP. The 24-year-old, who was drafted by the Nats in the fifth round in 2020, has made four quality starts in his 10 appearances, but has had a habit of allowing at least two runs per game since early May. The southpaw ranks in the 86th percentile in extension (6.9), 84th in walk percentage (5.3) and 80th in walk percentage (31.8) according to Savant Baseball.

Match 67: RHP Reese Olson (1-7, 3.43 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Irvin (4-5, 3.12 ERA)

Olson has struggled recently after a disastrous start to the season, after which he collapsed in early June. Since the beginning of the month, the 24-year-old has posted an ERA of 12.54 but a respectable 4.22 FIP in two games lasting just nine minutes. ¹⁄₃ innings, allowing 13 hits (two home runs), walking two and striking out 11. It doesn’t help that he ranks in the eighth percentile in hard-hit percentage and ninth in both average exit velocity and extension.

Irvin is another MLB sophomore who will struggle on Wednesday, posting improved numbers compared to his solid rookie season. The 27-year-old has made four straight starts, posting a 1.48 ERA and 2.82 FIP in 24 ¹⁄₃ innings allowing 16 hits (two home runs) and five walks while striking out 26. The right-hander stands out among his peers in extension (89th percentile), walk percentage (88th) and strikeout value (84th).

Game 68: RHP Casey Mize (1-4, 4.73 ERA) vs. RHP MacKenzie Gore (5-5, 3.57 ERA)

Mize’s struggles continued in the final game as the former top draft pick simply cannot miss the bat on any of his pitches; however, the unearned runs allowed in the last two also suggest bad luck with his performance. Still, the 27-year-old is only over two months after returning from a long-term injury layoff, so it’s definitely too early to give up on the game now. That said, his MLB percentile rankings are in blue, with the biggest outlier being his elite extension (94th).

Gore is now in his third year in the MLB and has clearly made a step forward from the previous two seasons. The 25-year-old played through June, giving up no more than three runs per game until the New York Mets crushed him in his worst performance of the season two games ago. According to Baseball Savant, the main reason for his improvement is a reduction in the number of hard-hit balls, achieving a 0.8 HR/9 so far while significantly improving his peripheral metrics.

Series Outlook: A must-win series… but is it really?

The Tigers are sending the rest of their rotation to play the Nationals this week, but the good news is that Washington is slightly worse offensively than the Tigers. The visitors rank 27th in OPS (.659), broken down by a team batting average of .232 (22nd), on-base percentage of .304 (22nd) and slugging of .355 (27th), while the home team has a batting average of .671 OPS (23rd .), .230 BA (25th), .297 OBP (27th) and .374 SLG (19th) show that Detroit has the advantage in energy. The question is, will the bats show up and help the struggling pitching staff, or will we see some uneven fortunes? Stay tuned this week.