Tigers at Braves
Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers are swinging red-hot bats when Mother Nature hasn't doused them with buckets of rain. Cabrera and the Tigers look to make up ground in their bid for a postseason berth as the club vies for its fourth straight victory on Saturday when they play the second contest of a three-game interleague series at the Atlanta Braves.
Cabrera went deep on two occasions in Detroit's 6-2 series-opening win on Friday to improve to 14-for-31 with four homers and 14 RBIs during his eight-game hitting streak. The two-time American League MVP has 20 blasts and 55 RBIs in his past 63 contests for the Tigers, who have won eight of 11 to reside a half-game behind Toronto for the second wild-card berth. National League East cellar-dwelling Atlanta has long since given up on its postseason aspirations, but it had won 10 of 11 and 35 of 69 since the All-Star Game before Friday's setback. Freddie Freeman is 0-for-7 in his last two contests since seeing his hitting and on-base streaks come to an end at 30 and 46 games, respectively, but is batting .360 versus Saturday starter Jordan Zimmermann.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, FSN South (Atlanta)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Jordan Zimmermann (9-6, 4.88 ERA) vs. Braves RH Aaron Blair (1-7, 8.02)
Zimmermann is scheduled to make his first start since Sept. 10 and third in more than three months on Saturday as the 30-year-old has been plagued by both neck and lat issues. The Wisconsin native, whose last win came against the Chicago White Sox on June 14, owns a 7-3 career mark against Atlanta with a 2.55 ERA. Zimmermann has enjoyed success in seven outings away from Comerica Park this season, posting a 4-1 record with a 2.47 ERA.
Blair sure has taken his lumps during his rookie season, yielding 20 runs over his last four starts - including five in 3 1/3 innings in a 6-4 setback at Miami on Saturday. The 24-year-old has been taken deep 12 times in his last eight outings and issued at least three walks in five of those contests. Blair owns an 0-4 mark with an 8.18 ERA at Turner Field this season while allowing the opposition to bat .302 against him.
WALK-OFFS
1. Detroit 2B Ian Kinsler has homered in back-to-back contests to extend his hitting and run-scoring streaks to seven and eight games, respectively.
2. Atlanta C Tyler Flowers is 6-for-16 with one homer, six RBIs and three runs scored during his four-game hitting streak.
3. Monday's makeup game pitting the Tigers and Cleveland Indians will be played at 1 p.m. on Monday, should the contest be deemed necessary.