Tigers at Pirates
Pittsburgh became the first team to finally shut down the vaunted
Detroit attack. The Pirates look to follow up a rousing victory in their home opener over the Tigers when the teams tangle Tuesday in the second of
three straight games.
Detroit rolled through its first six games with an average of 7.8 runs and an average margin of victory of 5.2 runs before running into Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole and some Pittsburgh power in a series-opening 5-4 defeat. Josh Harrison set the tone with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first and Pedro Alvarez and Corey Hart also homered for the Pirates, who saw Cole allow a run in six-plus frames. Detroit rallied for three runs in the ninth before dropping to 8-15 all-time in the Steel City and falling one win shy of becoming the second team in franchise history to open 7-0 (1984). The Pirates' victory was their seventh straight at home against an American League opponent.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FSN Detroit, ROOT (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Shane Greene (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Pirates RH A.J. Burnett (0-0, 3.38)
Greene's debut with the Tigers was a phenomenal one, as he limited Minnesota to one unearned run and four hits in eight innings on Thursday. He struck out five and has now recorded 57 punchouts in his last 49 1/3 innings dating back to last season, when he was a member of the New York Yankees. The 26-year-old, who has yet to make an interleague start, is 4-0 with a 2.70 ERA in seven games (six starts) on the road in his career.
Burnett looked strong early in his season debut at Cincinnati on Thursday but a lengthy rain delay hindered his outing a bit and he wound up surrendering two runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 3-2 loss. While with the Pirates in 2012 and 2013, the veteran went 13-10 with a 2.76 ERA in 31 starts at home. Burnett is 5-1 with a 2.92 ERA in eight interleague outings with Pittsburgh, and is 6-2 despite a 5.19 mark in his career against Detroit.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera had two more hits Monday after going 11-for-14 in a three-game sweep at Cleveland over the weekend.
2. Pittsburgh is 15-6 against the A.L. at home over the last two seasons.
3. Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen is tied with Jason Bay for the all-time lead in RBIs at PNC Park (241) and is one home run shy of Bay's record of 61 at the 14-year-old park.