Tigers vs Braves Series Preview: What Detroit Needs To Take Huge Road Victory
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The Detroit Tigers have shone flashes of brilliance this season, but primarily at Comerica Park, as the road has given the ballclub some problems, with 12 of the team's 15 losses being away from Detroit.
Now, the Tigers have to close out the month against the winningest team in baseball, as the Atlanta Braves were the first team in either league to reach 20 wins on the year. The probable pitching lineups are out, but there is more to the story than just the stat line.
Luckily, it is the beginning of the starting rotation, which means Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and Framber Valdez will all likely be throwing for the Tigers this series. But these three aren't going to be enough by any means.
In order to take this series, Detroit needs two things:
- Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter need to stay hot.
- Starters have to come out strong
Offense Has Gotten Going With Much-Needed Production
The offense was definitely the biggest hole in the roster to start this season, as many were hitting well under .20,0 including both Carpenter and Torkelson. That is far from the case anymore, as Carpenter has posted an unfathomable turnaround, and Tork is on a five-game streak with a homer.
It isn't just these two that have caught fire, but since they have, it seems like everyone is rising to the occasion. In the last week, there were five starters with an OPS over 1.000-
- Spencer Torkelson- 1.707
- Kerry Carpenter- 1.000
- Kevin McGonigle- 1.131
- Riley Greene- 1.239
- Gleyber Torres- 1.000
Spencer Torkelson has homered in FIVE STRAIGHT GAMES! pic.twitter.com/YdafxQQk4f
— MLB (@MLB) April 26, 2026
The whole batting order feeds off one another, so to take down the Braves, everybody needs to stay firing.
Need Strong Starts Across the Board
The Braves' offense at home is deadly. There are only a pair of starters in their batting order that are hitting below .259, while six others are hitting above .300, led by Dominic Smith's .417. Mize is honestly the most consistent right now, but everyone knows what Skubal is capable of.
They need a lot of K's from Skubal while minimizing the damage from hits. There are Gold Gloves behind the mound, but the Braves have scored the fourth-most runs in baseball this year on their home field, and that should not be overlooked.
Road games have been less than ideal outcomes for the Tigers, and that is not going to work down the stretch. They have to figure out how to win on the road if this team wants to make a deep run in October.
The Braves series will be a huge early test, and we will learn a lot in the coming days when it comes to a close. Detroit is definitely capable of taking a W back home, but it will not be easy.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.