Pitchers' Duel On Tap For Tigers Vs Mariners

Tigers vs. Mariners, 9:40 ET

As we get closer to the middle of August, we need to start reevaluating teams for baseball. Some of them are going to be looking for a path to the playoffs, and every game will matter. Some of them will start anticipating the September call-ups so they can evaluate talent for the next season. In other situations, like today's we get a bit of a mix between a playoff hopeful - the Mariners - and a team that will wait until next year, but still has an interesting wrinkle in terms of individual awards - the Tigers. They take each other on in what should be a good pitchers' duel. 

Baseball is one of the few sports where the team record really doesn't matter when it comes to individual awards. Mike Trout has won many MVPs but seen the playoffs very rarely in his career. Cy Young pitchers come from teams that aren't even .500. I know that one guy can't always impact the game of baseball as significantly as a quarterback or an NBA player. However, this year, we do have two guys that are likely winners of awards in the American League that have been as impactful as anyone. Aaron Judge will be the MVP and has been nothing short of remarkable this campaign. As far as pitching, Tarik Skubal is likely to be the AL Cy Young this season, and without him the Tigers would be a complete disaster. The team is not too far under .500, but without him going once every five days, where would this team be? Once again, Skubal takes the mound today with hopes that he will provide some sort of opportunity for victory. Skubal is second in both ERA and WHIP in the Majors, third in strikeouts, and fourth in wins. He is coming off of his worst start of the season, allowing five earned runs over 6.1 innings to the Royals. But, this Mariners team, even though they've played better through the additions they've made, are still one of the most strikeout prone teams in the league and a poor offensive club. Mainers hitters are not overly experienced against Skubal, going 9-for-37 against him, with 10 strikeouts. 

Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal delivers a pitch vs. the Marlins at loanDepot park in Miami. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

The Mariners are a club that have found ways to win all season despite their offensive production being literally one of the worst in the league. Just a few weeks ago, their batting average was the lowest in the Majors. Lower than the White Sox who have lost over 20 consecutive games. Now, Seattle has made some additions to the club including Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner who can add some consistent at-bats for the organization. Does that mean the offensive woes are fixed for everyone? Probably not. Both of those guys are prone to strikeouts which the Mariners lead the league in. However, this team isn't built on offense it is built on pitching and the pitching will once again shine today with George Kirby on the hill. Kirby is the fourth favorite for the Cy Young. Maybe by out-pitching Skubal today he can improve his chances a bit. Kirby is 8-7 with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He also has allowed just 15 walks this season. Commanding the strikezone is one of the hardest things to do, and not issuing free passes is extremely significant toward success. He has been outstanding the last two months, going 67.2 innings and allowing just 15 earned runs. Detroit's offense is terrible and has been bad in the limited exposure to Kirby, going just 2-for-14 against him. 

This game will go under the total. I played a game like this recently as Zack Wheeler faced Logan Gilbert in Seattle. My expectation in this one is very similar. The Mariners will likely win this game, but we won't see seven runs in this. I also think Skubal probably gets to double-digits in strikeouts today. Either way, the pitchers are going to make the hitters look like clowns in this one. Back the under for this game. 

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