The division rivals are both in a good spot to light up the scoreboard at Comerica Park.
Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers
Minnesota has dropped 12 of its last 17 games after dropping a 7-3 road game to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. “Silly baserunning, getting picked off in bad situations, and we kind of nonchalanted a bung play there,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Those things just can’t happen in a big game like this.” The Twins still lead the season series 6-4 and are 19-11 against the division (+340). Minnesota has dropped eight of 10 on the road and could be without the services of first baseman Justin Morneau for a third straight games, as he suffered a mild concussion by getting kneed in the head on Wednesday. Outfielder Denard Span may be asked to lead the offense, as he’s hitting .350 against the Tigers this season and his 65 career hits against them are his most versus any opponent.
Twins starting pitcher Nick Blackburn is 7-6 with a 6.00 ERA in 16 starts, allowing 127 hits in 93 total innings thus far. The right-hander is coming off a 7-4 home defeat against the Tampa Bay Rays, giving up seven runs (four earned) and nine hits in 6.1 innings. He has compiled a 2-5 record and 9.40 ERA in eight road starts this season, managing to surrender nine home runs in 37.1 innings and opponents are hitting a gaudy .401 against him. Blackburn will be making his 10th lifetime appearance against the Tigers, posting a 4-3 mark and 3.95 ERA. He led the Twins to a 11-4 victory over the division rivals two starts back, tossing seven innings and allowing four earned runs on seven hits. The third-year starter is 0-3 with a 6.12 ERA in five career outings (four starts) at Comerica Park.
Detroit enters today’s game having won 16 of 18 games at home dating back to June 2, as the team stands at 31-12 overall at Comerica Park (+1,690). The victory extended its lead to three games on the third-place Twins and moved the club’s winning streak to four games. All-Star first baseman Miguel Cabrera has been doing it all at the plate, extending his hitting streak to 17 games with a single on Friday night. He is batting .406 with two home runs and 15 RBI over that span and has compiled a 74 RBI total on the season. The Tigers have produced a 22-13 daytime record this season (+720) with the total going 15-18-2 O/U in those contests.
Tigers starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman is 4-6 with a 4.81 ERA in 16 appearances (15 starts) this season. He is set to make his eighth start of the season at home this afternoon, going 2-3 with a 3.52 ERA. Bonderman is making his 95th overall appearance at Comerica Park, posting a 29-35 record and 4.89 ERA. The right-hander has been bitten by the long ball recently, surrendering nine home runs over his last seven starts after he allowed just two home runs in the first nine outings (eight starts). In 17 previous outings against the Twins, he stands at 4-6 with a 5.40 ERA, including a 7-5 victory on June 28 at Minnesota. He allowed four earned runs and nine hits over 5.1 innings in that start.
Bettors need to wait for the lineups to be released to find out if Morneau returns to the field. The over is currently 6-1-1 in Twins games this month and a perfect 7-0 in their last seven games versus a right-handed starter. This fits well with the Tigers going over the total in nine of their last 13 games as a favorite.
