Preview: Indians Look to Rebound Against Tigers in Game Two of Three-Game Series Tonight

Monday night was a snoozer for the Indians in Detroit against the rival Tigers, as their hot-hitting offense was lulled to sleep by Tigers starter Mike Fiers and a couple relievers in a Detroit 6-3 win.

Carlos Carrasco gave up three runs in six innings of work, and the big bat for the Tigers was right fielder Niko Goodrum, who hit a two-run homer off Carrasco to make it 3-1, and then in the 8th with the game still very much up for grabs, he slammed a three-run shot off reliever Zach McAllister to make it a 6-2 game.

While the pen continues to have its share of issues, the offense needs to pick it up tonight in game two of the three-game series to try and then win the series on Wednesday afternoon.

Here's a preview of tonight's 7:10pm battle in Detroit.

Time: 7:10 p.m.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Josh Tomlin (0-4, 8.06) vs. LHP Francisco Liriano (3-1, 3.35)

TV: SportsTime Ohio

Online: MLB.TV

Radio: WTAM 1100am, Indians Radio Network

1. Can Tomlin Turn it Around?

To say it's been an ugly start to 2018 for Indians fifth starter Josh Tomlin is an understatement. He's 0-4 with an 8.06 ERA, and many Tribe fans are calling for him to get pulled from the starting rotation.

There is a light at the end of this tunnel for Tomlin, and that's the fact that his only good start of 2018 has been against the Tigers back on April 10th.

In that outing he went five innings, holding the Tigers scoreless with two walks, three K's and a hit batter.

If he can keep the Tigers in the park (he's allowed 13 homers in 25.2 innings), he's got a shot to keep the team in the game, but that's been his biggest problem this season thus far keeping the Indians competitive in the games he's started.

2. An Pitcher the Indians Know Well

Tigers pitcher Francisco Liriano is no stranger to the Indians, as in his career mostly with the Twins he's a lifetime 5-7 with a 4.11 ERA against the Tribe.

Liriano threw six innings against the Indians back on April 9th earning a no-decision, allowing two runs on three hits in the eventual Indians victory.

In his last outing he went just four innings, allowing three runs on four hits in an eventual 5-4 loss to Texas. We will see if the Indians can get to him tonight.

1. How Much Worse Can This Bullpen Get?

Last night was another awful effort by the two players thrown out by Terry Francona in the 8th inning to try to keep it a one-run game.

The two arms that threw last night were Evan Marshall and Zach McAllister, both of which couldn't seem to get an out.

The end result was three runs allowed, all of which came on one swing from Niko Goodrum, who put any hopes of an Indians comeback to rest.

The numbers for the pen has been staggering since the Andrew Miller injury, but at the end of the day this team just can't seem to get anyone out once the starter leaves the game.

They will keep going to the drawing board and there's Tribe scouts looking everywhere for players that can help, but right now it's tough to watch this team give up runs in bunches once the pen takes over.