Sonny Gray (6-2, 1.82 ERA) gets the start for the Oakland Athletics (21-33) as they go up against Anibal Sanchez (3-6, 5.75 ERA) and the Detroit Tigers (28-25) in the second of a three-game series at Comerica Park. The Tigers lost the last game 5-3, extending a five-game losing streak. The game gets underway at 7:08 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jun. 3 and will air on CSN-CA and FSN-DET.
Sanchez is 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA against the Athletics in his career, and faces a strong Oakland offense that’s hitting .256 on the year. Miguel Cabrera (.332, 29 Rs, 11 HRs, 34 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run. In his career against the Tigers, Gray is 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and five strikeouts.
Detroit is favored by a small -112 margin in its matchup against Oakland. The teams combine to set the Over/Under (O/U) at eight runs. The Tigers are 18-15 as the favorite and have an overall money line of +93. They are 1-4 as the favorite over their last 10 games. Detroit has averaged 3.0 runs per game over the last 10 games, lower than its season average of 4.1. The Tigers are a superb hitting team with an AL-best 9.5 hits per home game. They have been a terror on the base paths, ranking third in all of baseball with 45 steals.
Moving on to the away team, the Athletics come into this game with a weak win percentage of .368 when playing as the underdog (7-12) and an overall money line of -1,864. The Athletics average just 6.6 strikeouts per game, one of the lowest marks in the AL. Switching gears to Oakland’s pitching staff, they have the fifth-lowest ERA in the AL at 3.71.
The Tigers will take on a right-hander (Gray) in this game and have a 20-19 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Athletics will be the right-hander Sanchez. They sport a 17-23 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – DET, O/U – Over
Notes
When the Tigers play into extra innings, they have a 3-1 record. The Athletics are 0-6 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Athletics are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Tigers have an 8-12 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Tigers are 2-17. The Athletics have a 4-20 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 23rd in home runs, Detroit has hit 41 this season. Oakland ranks 17th with 47 home runs.
Detroit and Oakland both rank in the top five of the league in hits. Detroit sits at second with 9.23 hits per game and Oakland ranks third with 8.94.
Ranking 16th, Oakland is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.708). Detroit ranks in the top five at fourth with an OPS of .746.
When the Athletics allow at least one home run, they are 4-21. When the Tigers allow one or more homers, they have a 10-17 record.
