After the Indians reclaimed first place (by a percentage point) over the Detroit Tigers with a 6-4 win on Wednesday, Mitch Talbot and the Tribe will try to win this three-game series and head back into interleague play on a positive note when they wrap up their road trip on Thursday afternoon.
Talbot will be making his first appearance of the season against the Tigers, against whom Mitch is 2-1 in his career in five games, four of which have been starts. Talbot has a high 5.18 ERA vs. Detroit in 24.1 innings, but has been good in all but his first start since coming off the DL.
In his last three starts, Talbot is only 1-2, but has surrendered just five runs in 18.1 innings, having been the victim of the Indians’ offensive slump in his last two games, in both of which Cleveland was shut out.
Can’t beat ‘em if you can’t score against ’em. Maybe (hopefully) that can change today.
Detroit will send Max Scherzer (8-2, 4.39 ERA) to the hill, Scherzer will be facing the Tribe for the second time this season. On April 29 he received a no-decision in a 9-5 Indians’ win. In that game Scherzer allowed five runs in 6.2 innings, and was touched for six hits and walked five while fanning seven.
In his career, Scherzer is just 1-3 against The Good Guys with a high 5.97 ERA in 28.2 innings over five starts.
In his last game Scherzer held the Seattle Mariners to one run in seven innings, picking up the win in Detroit’s 8-1 victory last Saturday.
Cleveland will return home after this one to open a stretch of 15 straight interleague games, beginning with a three-game set vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night at Progressive Field, while the Tigers will head to Colorado to take on the Rockies — who will then pay a visit to Cleveland beginning on Monday.