Detroit Tigers lineup vs. Boston Red Sox: Akil Baddoo called up for Austin Meadows, leading off
When: 4:10 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Comerica Park in Detroit.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1 in Detroit; other Tigers radio affiliates).
First-pitch forecast: Partly cloudy, 51 degrees.
Starting pitchers: Tigers LHP Joey Wentz (0-1, 5.06 ERA) vs. Red Sox RHP Tanner Houck (1-0, 5.40).
Tigers lineup:
LF Akil Baddoo
CF Riley Greene
SS Javier Báez
3B Nick Maton
P Joey Wentz
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Game notes: Despite being in his fourth season in the majors, Houck has faced the Tigers just once, closing out the Red Sox’s win on June 20, 2022. He faced four batters that day at Fenway Park, getting the now-departed Jeimer Candelario to whiff, allowing a single to Spencer Torkelson and then retiring Jonathan Schoop and Eric Haase on a lineout and a flyout, respectively.
Houck relies heavily on breaking balls; last season, he threw his slider 40.8% of the time and his sinker 29.6%, while his four-seam fastball made an appearance just 23.5% of the time. And no wonder: Said slider was worth minus-six runs, according to MLB Statcast, while his sinker had a minus-two run value. His pitch mix was a bit more balanced in his first start this season, as he threw the slider 28.6%, a cutter 27.1%, and then his sinker and four-seamer 18.6% each in a win over the Baltimore Orioles. Houck limited the O’s to just six baserunners — five hits and a walk — over five innings, but was victimized by the home run, giving up two bombs a batter apart in the fifth inning on April 2.
Tigers starter Joey Wentz was roughly as effective in his first start on April 2, holding the Rays to three runs over 5⅓ innings, with four hits, one walk, three strikeouts and one homer in a loss. One warning sign: Wentz’s cutter, which had a 38.9% whiff rate in 2022 as he used it 22% of the time, didn’t fool many Rays; they whiffed on it just 18.2% despite Wentz throwing it 20 times over his 72 pitches.
After today’s mid-afternoon game, the Tigers and Red Sox will finish up their three-game set at 1:10 p.m. Sunday, with the Tigers sending Matthew Boyd to the mound and the BoSox sending Kutter Crawford (you’ll never guess what he throws). The Tigers will then continue their jaunt through the AL East with a three-game visit to Toronto on Tuesday-Thursday, while the Red Sox head to St. Petersburg, Florida, to take on the unbeaten Rays.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers lineup vs. Red Sox: Akil Baddoo called up, leading off
Source: Yahoo Sports
