Tigers Pitching Staff Will Have Their Hands Full vs White Sox This Week
Back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs don't happen very often against Major League pitching. In fact, four-consecutive homers in an inning is a feat that we've only seen achieved ten times in MLB history, matching the record.
The Tigers pitching staff is currently prepping for a White Sox lineup that managed to achieve that feat for the second time in franchise history during the third of a three-game set with St. Louis.
Yoan Moncada, Jose Abreu, Yasmani Grandal, and Eloy Jimenez all went yard consecutively in an explosive fifth-inning that followed up a relatively quiet first 18 innings for Chicago's bats.
They only managed eight hits in the first two games of the three-game series with St. Louis before racking up six in the fifth inning alone, four of them leaving the park. Sunday marked the first time since 2008 that the White Sox hit four homers in consecutive fashion.
Manager Rick Renteria called the slew of home runs "exciting," and went on to say, "it was a big inning, a huge inning. We needed something like that to kind of spark us, albeit just one game. But certainly signs of the things that are capable of being done."
Not many would argue with Renteria about viewing Sunday as a sign of what's to come on the South Side.
The aforementioned names of Abreu, Grandal, Jimenez, and Moncada, along with others in a deep Chicago lineup, are reasons why the Tigers' pitching staff could have their hands full in this week's four-game series.
Quality starts have come at a premium this season for Detroit's starting rotation. The Tigers currently possess a 5.52 team ERA (26th in the MLB) and are navigating injuries.
The team called up RHP Anthony Castro after Ivan Nova's placement on the 10-day injured list with Triceps Tendinitis.
Set-up man Buck Farmer is eligible to return from the 10-day injured list on Thursday, which would be the final game of the Tigers' four-game set with the White Sox.
First baseman and cleanup-hitter, C.J Cron has opted for season-ending knee surgery, while leadoff-hitter Niko Goodrum left Sunday's game with back tightness.
Detroit is currently facing questions regarding their pitching staff and lineup as they try to end a season-long five-game skid heading into this week's series with the White Sox.
