Sunday night the Los Angeles Angels will try to go for the sweep of their three game home series vs. the Detroit Tigers. Oddsmakers at SBG Global have installed Detroit (-140 ml) the favorite in tonight’s nationally televised game (ESPN) if Jeremy Bonderman (10-2, 3.69 ERA) is the Tigers’ starting pitcher. Taking the mound for the Angels is Dustin Moseley (RP 4-1, 4.06 ERA). Right now Bonderman is the Tigers best pitcher and the winner of four of his last five starts. Moseley has lost four of his last five starts. Neither starting pitcher has faced tonight’s opponent this season.
The Tigers are looking to avoid the sweep in a series where their hitting and pitching has disappeared.
Saturday’s game was tied 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth when Vladimir Guerrero beat out an infield single to start the inning. With left-handers Casey Kotchman and Garret Anderson sandwiching the switch-hitting Matthews (batting just .213 from the right side this season) in the Angels’ order, Tigers manager Jim Leyland brought in left-handed reliever Tim Byrdak. Kotchman bunted the go-ahead run to second and Gary Matthews Jr. was intentionally walked, bringing up Anderson (who is 18 for 54 against left-handed pitchers this season). Anderson turned on a 1-and-0 fastball from Byrdak and sent it high towards the out-of-town scoreboard topping the 18-foot wall in right.
"I didn’t see it until the last 10 feet or so," said Matthews who was running from first base. "The way I saw it, the trajectory looked like it was going to be off the wall. So I turned and ran and looked for a sign. The next thing I heard was the crowd going wild.
"Right now, we're doing all the things that add up to losing," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said after Saturday’s loss. "We're not managing good, we're not hitting good when we've got a chance to add on runs. All that adds up to getting beat. When the ship is not running well, you take responsibility," Leyland said. "I haven't pushed the right buttons and we haven't executed. We're all in it together, and I obviously include myself."
The Tigers lost their third straight and seventh out of 10. Only once in those 10 games have they gotten a quality start (six innings or more, three runs or fewer).The bullpen has lost three times in the last five games. But the Tigers' big offense has produced only one inning of at least four runs in the last 13 games.
