The Tampa Bay Rays (31-25) will kick off a three-game series at Comerica Park with the Detroit Tigers (30-25) with an electric pitching matchup, pitting ace in the making Matt Moore (8-0, 2.18 ERA) against the Tigers' Anibal Sanchez (5-5, 2.79 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:08 p.m.; the Tigers radio broadcast can be heard on 97.1 The Ticket, while the Rays broadcast can be found at WDAE 620. Tonight's duel can be live streamed at MLB.com with a subscription.
After a slow start to the season, Tampa Bay has found its groove and is six games over .500. Despite their good record, which is better than Detroit's, they find themselves in fourth place in the tough American League East division.
One of the biggest reasons Tampa Bay has remained competitive, despite getting little from ace David Price, has been the phenomenal year of 22-year-old left-hander Moore. In spite of his tender age, he has pitched like a veteran, striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings. His batting average against is a paltry .178, the best in all of baseball.
The Tigers could present a difficult matchup for the youngster though. His batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is at .201, an extraordinarily low number that suggests a great deal of luck has played into his stellar record and ERA.
Tonight he will deal with reigning American League MVP Miguel Cabrera, who is matching his 2012 performance, and even exceeding it in some categories. He also must contend with Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder, who despite being left-handed is hitting .359 against lefties in 2013.
He will be opposed by Sanchez, who is whiffing a ridiculous 11.3 batters per nine innings. In two of his last three starts Sanchez has been touched up for 10 earned runs in just over nine innings, so he has come back to Earth a bit. However, those two starts sandwiched a complete game shutout of the Minnesota Twins in which he struck out 12.
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