Pitching Staff in Desperate Need of Run Support
A day after Thursday's shutout loss in Chicago, the Tigers are scrambling to provide some much-needed run support for their ailing pitching staff.
Detroit's nine runs throughout the entire four-game series vs. the White Sox matched Chicago's number in the fourth game alone. Detroit also played from behind in each of the four games played.
26 home runs through the first 16 games of the season was a revelation for a Tigers team that hit just eight homers through the first 19 games a year ago. As thrilling as the long ball can be, we were left wondering if Detroit would have to find a way to manufacture runs on a more frequent basis.
Since the home run numbers have gone down, Detroit's ability to score runs has been hindered by an unsightly .289 on-base percentage (29th in MLB). That number is better than only the lowly Pirates, who currently possess the MLB's worst record (4-17).
Manager Ron Gardenhire has tested out different lineup combinations since C.J. Cron's injury and may have found a glimmer of light amid a dark offensive spell by way of entrusting first baseman Jeimer Candelario with the leadoff spot.
Candelario is hitting .351 with a .373 on-base percentage since August 2nd. He appears to have forged his way through going hitless in his first 19 plate appearances. The Tigers only had five hits in their most recent shutout loss to the White Sox, Candelario was responsible for two of them.
Leads for Detroit's pitching staff to work with have come at a premium during their nine-game losing streak. Tigers fans will rest their hopes in the bat of Jeimer Candelario and the hitters behind him to produce a few early runs when they try to navigate out of the purgatory that is playing the Cleveland Indians.
Detroit's first of three cracks at ending their twenty-game winless streak against the Indians will begin with RHP Michael Fulmer (0-0, 7.56 ERA), making his fourth start of 2020 vs. Cleveland's RHP Adam Plutko (1-1,3.95 ERA).
The Tigers managed to produce three runs off six hits in 2.2 innings vs. Plutko when they last faced him at Comerica Park on August 16th. Finding a way to replicate that same early production that has eluded Detroit's lineup in recent games feels imperative for the team's confidence.
