dailyloe.com – The Boston Red Sox host the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park on Friday night. This opens a four-game series following a Red Sox day off. Boston finished a six-game road trip with a 9-5 win over Minnesota. That victory avoided a sweep and gave them a 3-3 trip record.
The visiting Detroit Tigers enter on a six-game winning streak. Their latest win was a 10-9 walk-off victory over Kansas City on Thursday. It was their third consecutive win by a single run. The game featured nearly two hours of rain delays.
Red Sox left-hander Ranger Suarez will start the series opener. His last outing was a 7-1 win at St. Louis. Suarez allowed just three hits and struck out six. He shut out the Cardinals through six innings.
Manager Alex Cora commented on Suarez’s previous performance. “He moved the ball around,” Cora said. “It seems like his arm was a lot quicker than the first two (starts). It tells me he feels better.”
Detroit will counter with right-handed pitcher Casey Mize. Mize earned his first win of the season last Saturday. He threw five and two-thirds innings of one-run ball against Miami.
The game is scheduled for a 7:15 p.m. start time. It will air exclusively on Apple TV for television. Radio coverage will be on WEEI-FM 93.7.
The Tigers’ lineup features Gleyber Torres at second base. McGonigle is at shortstop and Jahmai Jones is the designated hitter. Dillon Dingler is catching and Matt Vierling is in left field.
Wenceel Pérez is in right field for Detroit. Spencer Torkelson is at first base and Zach Lee is at third. Javier Báez will play center field.
The Red Sox lineup has Roman Anthony as the designated hitter. Willson Contreras is at first base and Wilyer Abreu is in right. Trevor Story plays shortstop and Jarren Duran is in left field.
Ceddanne Rafaela is in center field for Boston. Marcelo Mayer is at second base and Kristian Durbin is at third. Connor Wong will be the catcher.
Historical stats show several Tigers have faced Suarez before. Javier Báez is 1-for-2 against him. Wenceel Pérez is 3-for-5 and Matt Vierling is 1-for-6.
Riley Greene is 1-for-6 against the Red Sox starter. Dillon Dingler, Jahmai Jones, and Spencer Torkelson are all 0-for-3. Gleyber Torres is 1-for-4 and Jake Rogers is 1-for-3.
Several Red Sox hitters have faced Detroit’s Casey Mize previously. Jarren Duran is 3-for-11 against the right-hander. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is 3-for-8 and Masataka Yoshida is 3-for-3.
Connor Wong is 2-for-3 against Mize. Wilyer Abreu is 2-for-6 and Ceddanne Rafaela is 1-for-6. Willson Contreras is 1-for-2, while Trevor Story is 0-for-3.
Carlos Narváez is 0-for-2 in his career against the Tigers’ starter. A key statistic highlights the Red Sox’s power shortage. Boston ranks 29th in Major League Baseball with only 12 home runs.
Only the San Francisco Giants have fewer, with just nine. Additional notes provide more pitching history. Suarez faced Detroit twice in the last two seasons while with Philadelphia.
He went 0-1 with a 3.46 ERA across 13 combined innings. Casey Mize has a career record of 0-1 against Boston. His ERA in five starts versus the Red Sox is 3.95.
Mize struck out eight batters in a start last September 26th. He pitched six and one-third innings in that road game. It was a no-decision for the Detroit pitcher.[]
Source: The Boston Globe
