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Blue Jays return home to tame the Tigers

By Keegan Matheson |
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Aug 26, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar (11) left fielder Ben Revere (7) and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (2) celebrate the win over the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Blue Jays defeat the Rangers 12-4. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Blue Jays stumbled late in their series against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, bet left town with two-of-three and a full head of momentum. Next on the docket is the struggling Detroit Tigers, whose 60-67 record leaves them in unfamiliar territory in the AL Central and Wild Card races.

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Drew Hutchison is expected to make his return to the Blue Jays starting rotation this weekend and will be flanked by veterans R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle. Hutchison’s certainty beyond this start is growing bleaker, however, with Marcus Stroman‘s miraculous rehab setting him up for a September 7th start for the Buffalo Bisons.

The Tigers have fallen due to their pitching in 2015, with a cumulative team ERA of 4.51 ranking them near the bottom of the big leagues. Detroit pitchers have also surrendered an opposing average of .267, so the Toronto bats could be lining up nicely. They’ll be matched in firepower, however, as Detroit ranks near the top of the MLB in runs scored and number two in baseball with a team OPS of .765, trailing only the Blue Jays.

It’s still the Miguel Cabrera show in Detroit as the perennial All Star is hitting a mind-numbing .370 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI in an injury-shortened season. Ian Kinsler is swinging a hot bat of his own while hitting .307 and J.D. Martinez continues to put up ridiculous numbers. He now owns a .291 average with 34 home runs and 87 RBI. There will be some runs scored in this series.

Next: Game 1: Dickey faces our old friend

Aug 23, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Matt Boyd (48) pitches in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Friday, August 28th  –  7:07 ET
R.A. Dickey (8-10, 4.26) vs. Matt Boyd (1-2, 4.88)

Dickey has seen his record shoot back to normalcy over his past seven starts, collecting five wins in that span, but he’s lost the magic recently. After spending several weeks as one of the hottest pitchers in baseball, the knuckler has allowed 20 hits in 10.0 innings over his past two starts.

His offense bailed him out last time, but there’s worry that Dickey is losing “it” again. I didn’t see anything terribly different from his mechanics again, though, so I’m still confident that everything will balance out. A key factor for Dickey will be recapturing his strikeout pitch.

Old friend Matt Boyd will counter for the Tigers, and while we love to see him succeed, perhaps he delays that one more start. The lefty has now made five appearances for the Tigers and owns a 4.88 ERA on the season. After impressing in his first outing following the David Price trade, Boyd has struggled as of late. As a lefty facing the Blue Jays, it won’t get any easier.

Next: Game 2: Which Hutch will we get?

Aug 16, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Drew Hutchison (36) delivers a pitch against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2: Saturday, August 29th  –  1:07 ET
Drew Hutchison (12-2, 5.06) vs. Buck Farmer (0-2, 7.80)

Hutch makes his return to the rotation for Saturday’s matinee, and he’ll need to improve on his AAA performance if he hopes to grab onto a job for the rest of the season. The righty allowed just one earned run over 6.1 innings during his last Major League start, and at this point, it’s all about repeating his recently-adjusted mechanics.

While Hutchison looks for win number 13, Tigers’ starter Buck Farmer is just looking for some traction. The right-hander has bounced between the rotation and bullpen, but with a 1.73 WHIP, the results haven’t been great. The injury to Daniel Norris gave Farmer another shot in the rotation, where he’s struggled to find his strikeout pitch with enough consistency and has flooded the bases. This sounds like I’m previewing a “trap game”, whatever that means, but he should be ripe for the picking.

Next: Game 3: Papa Buehrle looks to rebound in finale

Aug 25, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Mark Buehrle (56) throws during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Game 3: Sunday, August 30th  –  1:07 ET
Mark Buehrle (13-6, 3.60) vs. Alfredo Simon (11-8, 4.89)

The Sunday finale sees the grizzled lefty Mark Buehrle on the hill, and much like Dickey, he’s looking to turn it around after some shaky pitching of late. Over Buehrle’s last two starts, he’s pitched 10.0 innings while allowing nine earned runs on 14 hits. Every ball that could fall against the Texas Rangers did fall, but Buehrle insisted that he was making the pitches he wants. I’ll trust the man and expect a bounce-back outing this time around.

Simon’s season has been all over the place as he’s allowed four or more earned runs in eight of his last 10 starts. His past two starts, however, paint quite the scattered picture. Simon allowed eight earned runs over 4.1 innings against the Angels last time out, but twirled a one-hit complete game shutout over the Los Angeles Angels the start before. Control has been a major issue for Simon, so a patient approach should serve the Blue Jays well.

Next: Could John Gibbons steal the AL Manager of the Year?

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