The Detroit Tigers (24-19) and the Cleveland Indians (26-18) will play the rubber match of their three game series at Progressive Field with both teams splitting a game thus far. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET and will air live on MLB.com with a paid subscription or here for free.
Detroit ace Justin Verlander (4-4) will look to work his way out of a surprising slump. Verlander began his season on a roll, posting a 1.55 ERA over his first seven starts.
Then he faced the Indians and surrendered three earned runs, six hits and a season-high five walks in five innings in the May 11 matchup. According to Verlander, his rough start against Cleveland contributed to his most recent appearance Thursday, when he surrendered a career high-tying eight runs on six hits in 2 2/3 innings of a 10-4 loss against Texas.
"It wasn't much of a night to begin with, but I'd definitely say the whole game kind of (was a) carryover from my last start," Verlander told ESPN. "I'm not somebody who is going to go home and pout about this; I'm somebody who is going to figure it out and figure it out in a hurry."
The former Cy Young winner will have his hands full with a team that has given him the most trouble in the past. His 4.57 ERA in 31 career starts against the Indians is the worst of any team he's faced at least 10 times.
Cleveland is also responsible for four of the 10 career starts Verlander has allowed at least seven runs, and his 14 losses to the Indians are his most to any one team. The Tribe will look to bounce back from a disappointing offensive performance in a 5-1 loss thanks to solid pitching from Tigers starter Max Scherzer.
Scherzer held the Indians bats to just two hits over eight innings and retired the last 22 hitters he faced. Cleveland only managed three hits the entire game, their fewest since April 12.
"We've got to put that behind us," leadoff hitter Michael Bourn said. "Tomorrow we've got Verlander and he's really the ace of their staff."
Ubaldo Jimenez (3-2) will get the start for Cleveland. Jimenez currently holds a 5.31 ERA and allowed two runs on 5.0 innings pitched during his last appearance.
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