Reds Look to Stay Hot as Interleague Opponent Comes to Town

The Cincinnati Reds are returning to Great American Ball Park from a very successful road trip. Although they lost their last game, no one will be disappointed in how they played during those six games.

Now, they come home and welcome the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are currently 14-12 and tied for first place in the AL Central with the Cleveland Guardians. The Tigers have won 7 of their last 10 games, including two of three vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. That's good news for the Reds, as the Tigers had both their best pitchers, Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal, pitch in that series, so the Reds will miss out on facing them this weekend.

Detroit has the 10th-best team ERA in the majors at 3.65, just two spots behind the Reds at 3.58, so the potential of all three games being pitchers' duels is certainly there.

Offensively, the Tigers have a lot of talent as well. Guys like Kevin McGonigle, Riley Greene, and Colt Keith are off to excellent starts on the season, all showing potential to be American League All-Stars this summer. Catcher Dillon Dingler also has had a nice start to the year with an .854 OPS.

Simply put, the Reds are facing a good team this weekend, and though they have been great in interleague play so far this season, this might be the best AL team they have faced. Let's dive into the pitching matchups over the weekend.

Game 1: Andrew Abbott (0-2, 5.84 ERA) vs Framber Valdez (2-1, 3.30 ERA)

Valdez is in his first season with the Tigers after spending the first six seasons of his career with the Houston Astros. Valdez has fit right in with the Detroit rotation, getting off to a great start. The Reds don't have a lot of experience vs Valdez, but Nate Lowe has hit him very well from his days with the Texas Rangers, racking up an .867 OPS in 26 at-bats.

The Reds need Abbott to get back to being the pitcher he was last season. He's going into this matchup against the Tigers needing a solid outing. Only Jahmai Jones and Glebyr Torres have faced Abbott from the Tigers roster, with neither of them having a hit to show for it.

Game 2: Brady Singer (1-1, 5.32 ERA) vs Jack Flaherty (0-1, 3.47 ERA)

This matchup is unique, given that both of these guys have plenty of experience against their opponents from their previous teams. Singer faced the Tigers a lot during his time with the Kansas City Royals, while Jack Flaherty saw the Reds a ton while pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Singer has had a few good starts so far this season, but the Reds are waiting for him to find his stride. Singer has had success in his career against many of the Tigers' hitters, including Riley Greene, hitting just .214 in 14 at-bats.

Though Flaherty has pitched against the Reds a lot, he has not seen much of the guys currently on the roster. Though Ke'Bryan Hayes has been able to get the best of him in their matchups with a .429 batting average in 14 at-bats, and Eugenio Suarez carries a .940 OPS in their battles with 3 Homers and 4 RBI in 25 at-bats.

Game 3: Rhett Lowder (3-1, 3.10 ERA) vs Keider Montero (1-2, 3.68 ERA

Lowder pitched very well in Tampa vs the Rays in his last start, he has continued to grow and develop just as the Reds had hoped he would, he is yet to face any members of the Tigers yet in his Major League career.

Montero is coming off a really good start vs the Brewers, going 5.2 innings, giving up 3 earned runs. He hasn't had more than 3 at-bats vs any Reds but has surrendered home runs to TJ Friedl and Elly De La Cruz in their limited matchups.

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