Detroit Tigers (18-20) vs. Houston Astros (26-15) When: 7:10 p.m. tonight. Where: Comerica Park, Detroit. TV: Fox Sports Detroit. Radio: 97.1 FM in Detroit (Tigers radio affiliates). Starting pitchers: Tigers LHP Matthew Boyd (4-2, 2.86 ERA) vs. Astros RHP Brad Peacock (3-2, 4.30 ERA). • Box score Tigers lineup: 1B Niko Goodrum LF Christin Stewart RF Nicholas Castellanos DH Miguel Cabrera SS Ronny Rodriguez 3B Jeimer Candelario 2B Josh Harrison C Grayson Greiner CF JaCoby Jones Game notes: Tigers open a three-game series against the powerful Astros, who lead the American League West division by 6½ games. Before Monday's game, the Tigers activated Josh Harrison from the injured list and called up right-hander Zac Reninger. They placed Tyson Ross on the 10-day injured list with a pitching elbow injury and send down Harold Castro to Triple-A Toledo. Justin Verlander is scheduled to pitch Wednesday, his third career start against his former team, and second as an opponent at Comerica Park. More:Justin Verlander explains why Tigers lost twice in World Series More:Daniel Norris, with mom on his mind, breaks through in win over Twins Twitter updates Live updates for mobile users.<doc-sep>Not all win-loss records are created equal. Take the Detroit Tigers, for instance. Our Tigers have battled injuries, a struggling offense, and... well, more injuries all season long, but have clawed their way to an 18-20 record after 38 games. Though they are missing 80 percent of their projected Opening Day rotation, they find themselves within 2 1⁄ 2 games of the AL Wild Card. The underlying statistics tell a different story, however. The Tigers have been outscored by 49 runs this year, the third-worst total in baseball. Their pythagorean expected win-loss record — a projected record based on runs scored and allowed — is just 14-24, which would put them just barely ahead of last-place Kansas City in the AL Central standings. The Houston Astros find themselves at 26-15 after 41 games, meanwhile, and have already opened up a 6 1⁄ 2 game lead on their AL West competition. Their record is the second-best in baseball, behind only the Minnesota Twins. But Houston’s +69 run differential is the best in Major League Baseball, giving them a pythag record of 27-14. It doesn’t stop there, though. According to Baseball Prospectus’ third-order win percentage — “A team’s projected winning percentage, based on underlying statistics and adjusted for quality of opponents” — the Astros should have nearly 33 wins in their first 41 games. Their .795 third-order win percentage is the best in baseball by far, and suggests that the Astros are even better than their already impressive 26-15 mark. Are they the best team in baseball? I think so. Here’s hoping we are wrong for the next three games. Statistical comparison: Tigers vs. Astros Overview Tigers Astros Advantage Overview Tigers Astros Advantage Batting (wRC+) 81 (13th) 133 (1st) Astros Fielding (DRS) -24 (14th) 38 (1st) Astros Rotation (ERA-) 94 (6th) 93 (5th) Astros Bullpen (ERA-) 122 (13th) 72 (2nd) Astros Total fWAR 4.5 (13th) 17.1 (1st) Astros If the above paragraphs didn’t illustrate just how good the Astros are — or how big the gap is between the two clubs playing in this series — then this table probably does. The Astros lead every other AL club by nearly three full wins above replacement at this point, and rank at or near the top of the league in nearly every statistical category. Their pitching staff has the second-best strikeout rate and best K-BB percentage in the AL, which makes for a bad matchup against a Tigers offense with the second-highest strikeout rate in the American League. Though the Tigers are fortunate that they won’t face Gerrit Cole or electric rookie righthander Corbin Martin in this series — not to mention Jose Altuve, who is on the injured list with a hamstring injury — they will still face a stacked rotation, and one of the deepest lineups and bullpens in baseball. Their offense is running circles around the rest of baseball right now, with a 133 wRC+ that is 15 percentage points than the next-best team in the game. Their top eight hitters all have a 111 wRC+ or better, with five of those eight north of 150. Meanwhile, the Tigers only have four hitters above that 111 wRC+ mark, and only one of them (Nicholas Castellanos) has logged at least 100 plate appearances this season. Game times, TV listings, streaming info, etc. Game 1: Monday, May 13, 7:10 p.m. Game 2: Tuesday, May 14, 7:10 p.m. Game 3: Wednesday, May 15, 7:10 p.m. Venue: Comerica Park, Detroit, Mich. SB Nation site: The Crawfish Boxes Media (all games): Fox Sports Detroit, fuboTV, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network Astros lineup Player Pos. PA HR RBI wRC+ Player Pos. PA HR RBI wRC+ George Springer CF 185 15 37 182 Alex Bregman 3B 169 12 31 159 Michael Brantley LF 167 10 29 161 Carlos Correa SS 157 9 24 151 Josh Reddick RF 138 3 10 118 Yuli Gurriel 1B 154 3 14 111 Tyler White DH 78 0 3 95 Robinson Chirinos C 112 5 18 155 Aledmys Diaz 2B 74 3 17 82 I don’t know if it’s possible for a team in Houston’s position to truly be “reeling,” but the Astros’ lineup is in flux after second baseman Jose Altuve was placed on the 10-day injured list over the weekend. The ‘Stros have used a couple of different lineups since then, but with little variation in place. The left-handed Josh Reddick batted second against Rangers opener Jesse Chavez on Saturday, but moved down to fifth against a traditional right-handed starter on Sunday. George Springer is still at the top of the order, and Alex Bregman will almost certainly bat at some point in the top of the first inning. Aledmys Diaz is filling in for Altuve defensively, but will hit near the bottom of the order. Lefty masher Jake Marisnick will likely get a start or two in this series so he can run down fly balls in Comerica Park’s spacious outfield. Pitching matchups Game 1: RHP Brad Peacock (3-2, 4.30 ERA) vs. LHP Matthew Boyd (4-2, 2.86 ERA) Brad Peacock was something of a revelation in 2017 when his strikeout rate skyrocketed to nearly 30 percent. He upped the ante in 2018, striking out 96 hitters in 65 innings in a relief role. The Astros have continued to shuttle the 31-year-old righthander between the rotation and the ‘pen, but his numbers have largely remained the same. Peacock’s ERA is a bit elevated early on in 2019 thanks to a couple of rough outings, and his strikeout rate has taken a bit of a hit, but his 3.34 FIP is nearly identical to what he produced out of the bullpen last year. He fanned 12 Royals while allowing just three hits last time out. Game 2: LHP Wade Miley (3-2, 3.18 ERA) vs. LHP Ryan Carpenter (0-1, 10.80 ERA) Like Peacock, Wade Miley has also enjoyed an unexpected late-career breakout. Unlike Peacock, however, Miley’s wasn’t the result of a huge jump in strikeouts. In fact, Miley’s strikeout rate dropped by nearly five percentage points from 2017 to 2018, yet he was able to cut his ERA in half. What changed?<doc-sep>Detroit — You know the cliché, you can never have enough pitching? It’s not a cliché to the Tigers, it’s a painful reality. As you may have heard, four-fifths of the Tigers original starting rotation is on the injured list. Two of the top starters at Triple-A Toledo are also on the injured list. The Tigers had a starter finish six innings once in the last seven games. “There’s a lot of unknown variables, lots of conversation going on as we try to right this ship,” manager Ron Gardenhire said before the Houston Astros put an 11-4 hurt on the Tigers Tuesday. “We’re trying to get it right, but no one can plan for four starters going down. It’s going to be some ad-libbing tonight and tomorrow.” It got to the point where there was no available starting pitcher for the series finale Wednesday and Gardenhire was contemplating using a convoy of relievers against former Tigers ace Justin Verlander — a not-too-subtle symbol of how things have changed around here. BOX SCORE: Astros 11, Tigers 4 Except he couldn’t fully commit to that plan, because there was a good chance the game Tuesday would turn into a bullpen game, as well. Which it did. “Not a lot of options,” Gardenhire said. “We’re just going game by game right now. With Carp, we need him to pitch. And if it doesn’t work out, it’s just going to add to it. All we can do is wait to see what happens, then we will know what we will have to use tomorrow.” Here’s what happened: Starter Ryan Carpenter threw a lot of pitches early, got hit hard and lasted four innings. He gave up home runs to Carlos Correa (a 437-foot, three-run bomb into the shrubbery beyond the center-field wall) and a solo shot to Aledmys Diaz. He gave up nine hits, three walks and eight runs (seven earned). The Tigers had to use four relievers to get through the game. So what happens Wednesday against Verlander? "We've optioned Carpenter back to Toledo," Gardenhire said. "And we are bringing back Gregory Soto (from Double-A Erie). He'll start tomorrow." It will be a redo of what the Tigers did in the second game of the doubleheader in Minnesota Saturday. Soto and lefty Nick Ramirez will tag-team the start. Both worked four innings against the Twins. "They are both going to be on three-days rest, so we will try not to put too much work on them," Gardenhire said. "Whatever Soto can give us, we will take. We just have to get through the ballgame. "But they have a really good team over there (Astros), as we've seen. We're putting a lot of pressure on some kids." The Tigers had to use Buck Farmer for two innings, then Daniel Stumpf, Blaine Hardy and Victor Alcantara for one each. After Ramirez tomorrow, the Tigers will have Zac Reininger, Reed Garrett, Joe Jimenez and Shane Greene available, as well. "At the end of the day, we just got our (butts) kicked," Nick Castellanos said afterward. "Any way you look at it, we could have done everything better. We could have pitched better, we could've hit better and we could've played defense better. "We should have done everything better, but we didn't." Castellanos was asked if the team felt handicapped going into these games with all the uncertainty with the rotation and pitching staff. "No, it is what it is," he said. "It's our job to strap it on and give the best effort to do what we can to score more runs than the other team. The past two nights we've done a very poor job of doing that." The Astros scored in seven of the nine innings. George Springer blasted an inside-the-park home run in the fifth. He hit the ball off the concrete base of the wall in right-center field and it took a wicked carom past JaCoby Jones. According to Statcast, Springer raced around the bases in 15.34 seconds. It was the first inside-the-parker hit at Comerica since last April when the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks hit one. "They're very good and we've got to be like that if that's the goal, right," Castellanos said. "It just shows we've got a long ways to go. And it starts tomorrow." There was one positive that came out of this mess Tuesday. Ronny Rodriguez continues to hit the baseball with authority. He doubled, hit his sixth home run of the season (in just 83 plate appearances), and knocked in three runs. "You mean El Felino?" Castellanos said, referring to the name Rodriguez uses in his second career as a rapper. "El Felino is a baller." Rodriguez's home run traveled 435 feet and cleared the visitors’ bullpen in left-center. Four of his six home runs have traveled 400 feet or farther. He’s now hit safely in 14 of 21 games since being called up from Toledo, and his average is a robust .312. The bigger issue going forward for the Tigers is the gaping hole at the back end of the rotation. Even if general manager Al Avila decided to sign a veteran free agent like James Shields, it’s likely he would need to make at least two or three starts in the minor leagues before he was ready. Both Tyson Ross and Jordan Zimmermann could conceivably be out another month or longer. Kyle Funkhouser, who would be the next man up from Toledo, is still working his way back from a shoulder impingement. The Tigers have asked Drew VerHagen to stretch out and start at Toledo. He may also be an option down the line. But in the short-term, it's not a comfortable situation. “Welcome to my world,” Gardenhire said. chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com Twitter: @cmccosky<doc-sep>DETROIT, MICHIGAN - MAY 14: George Springer #4 of the Houston Astros celebrates his fifth inning inside the park home home run while playing the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on May 14, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) The Astros continue their recent tear through the competition on Tuesday. As it currently stands, the Astros have the best offense in the majors by a country mile. With a 136 wRC+ in their first 43 games, the club’s nearest rival for best offense in baseball belongs to the Twins and Dodgers, who both own a 116 wRC+ entering Wednesday. There isn’t a better team in this regard than Houston. Wade Miley is staying steady If the Astros had a question mark at any position, it had to be the back-end of the rotation. It isn’t to replace three pitchers — Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton, and Lance McCullers, Jr. — in quick order. And it hasn’t been a completely smooth transition. However, Wade Miley, a late addition in the offseason, has thrown some quality innings early on this season. The veteran southpaw won’t blow anyone away with his numbers (3.51 ERA in 51 1/3 IP), but he has stabilized the backend of Houston’s rotation. While he did surrender four runs in six innings against the Tigers on Tuesday, he has held it together quite well this season. George Springer pushing his way up the leaderboard At this moment only Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich, both in the NL, have a higher wRC+ than George Springer’s 187. Yes, Springer has been the best outfielder in the AL this season with a 2.7 fWAR. And, yes, that is currently higher than Mike Trout‘s 169 wRC+ and 2.5 fWAR. Since going 0-for-4 last Friday at Minute Maid Park, the Astros’ leadoff hitter has went 11-for-17 with three home runs and six RBI. His inside-the-park home run against the Tigers on Tuesday was truly a sight to behold. https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1128460374582415360 A rebound performance from Collin McHugh We all know why Collin McHugh is back in the bullpen following a stint in the rotation. Honestly, it was bound to happen to most pitchers who surrender 24 earned runs over 18 innings. That said, McHugh has held opposing lineups to just one earned run over his last 3 2/3 innings of work as a reliever. He did hold the Tigers to zero runs in two innings on Tuesday, which counts as progress. Also, his average fastball velocity has been up a couple of ticks as reliever (90 MPH) compared to earlier in the season. Unless something drastic occurs, we may see McHugh stay in the bullpen for a while.<doc-sep>
While the outcome was not as bad as one might have expected in a game featuring a future Hall of Famer backed by the hottest offense in baseball against a newly-promoted minor leaguer with a league-bottom offense, the Houston Astros still managed to sweep the Detroit Tigers with a 5-1 win on Wednesday. Things looked destined for disaster when Alex Bregman took Gregory Soto deep to left field for his ninth home run this month in the game’s second at-bat, putting the Astros up 1-0. Another Houston run came across in the top of the second after former Tigers ace Justin Verlander managed an easy 1-2-3 inning. Down 2-0 after two innings, Soto gave way to first-baseman-turned-pitcher Nick Ramirez, who allowed only a single in the top of the third. To reward the pitching staff’s first scoreless inning of the night, JaCoby Jones took Verlander 436-feet deep to left field for his third home run of the season, bringing the Tigers to within a run. Houston scored again in the next half inning on a Robinson Chirinos sacrifice fly, plating Aledmys Diaz. George Springer made a bid to extend that lead even further, but Christin Stewart took away a two-run home run to get Ramirez out of the third inning. Verlander struck out the side immediately after, but the Tigers threatened to even the score in the bottom of fifth when Josh Harrison drilled a two-out triple to deep left-center field. Brandon Dixon and Jones walked to load the bases before Niko Goodrum scorched a 105.8 mile-per-hour liner that Diaz snared before any damage could be done. The top of the sixth got ugly; errors from Ronny Rodriguez and Jeimer Candelario and a bobbled relay from Josh Harrison to potentially end the inning allowed the Astros to take a 4-1 lead. The Tigers would not get another hit nor draw another walk from there on out, and a Jake Marisnick triple to score Chirinos in the top of the eighth inning brought the score to its final. Verlander dominated in his second-career start as a visitor at Comerica Park, allowing one run over seven innings on two hits while striking out nine Tigers. The Good Nick Ramirez, who came into Wednesday following a solid four-inning performance during Saturday’s nightcap in his Tigers debut, showed again that he might become a reliable piece for the team’s bullpen (or rotation at this point). The lefthander followed Soto’s opening duties with four innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and three hits while striking out two. Additionally, Joe Jimenez threw a flawless ninth inning in an effort that will hopefully boost his shoddy confidence. The Bad The Tigers’ offense remains clueless. Niko Goodrum and Jeimer Candelario have been invisible, as the pair combined to go 0-for-8 in the contest and are a combined six for 60 with 16 strikeouts in the last seven games. If the team expects to score runs, they will need these two to find their way back on base. The Ugly Jeimer Candelario was optioned to Triple-A Toledo after Wednesday’s game.