Tarik Skubal is back in Detroit, and the Tigers are meeting him with a lineup built to make his night as uncomfortable as possible.
Against the left-hander, Detroit is sending out a mostly right-handed group, with rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle and center fielder Max Clark as the only left-handed starters. The Tigers’ order features Gleyber Torres at second, Hao-Yu Lee at third, McGonigle at short, Dillon Dingler catching, Eduardo Valencia at DH, Ben Malgeri in right, Spencer Torkelson at first, Clark in center and Javier Báez in left. Drew Anderson gets the ball for Detroit.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, are countering with a lineup that includes Shohei Ohtani at DH, Freddie Freeman at first, Mookie Betts at short, Max Muncy at third, Tommy Edman at second, Kyle Tucker in right, Alek Thomas in center, Teoscar Hernández in left and Hunter Feduccia behind the plate. Tarik Skubal starts for Los Angeles.
Before the game, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said the club would be ready for Skubal but acknowledged how difficult that task still is.
"You can know everything about a pitcher, that doesn't make it easy to hit them," he said. "The teams that have been successful against him in small little moments have been the teams that deliver some small papercuts, and then all of a sudden someone delivers the haymaker."
Dingler, batting cleanup, said Detroit plans to stick to its usual approach even with his familiarity with Skubal after serving as the Tigers’ primary catcher over the last two seasons.
"A good catcher gets in the habit of always thinking along with an at-bat, especially with a guy you know," he said. "I'm going to try to go with our offensive report that our hitting guys have, because it's always great."
Hinch also said he has stayed in contact with Skubal since the trade and plans to speak with him after the game, not before their matchup is finished.
The Tigers also got updates on a few injured players. Justin Verlander recently threw off a slope and is nearing a bullpen session, according to Hinch.
"It's hard to tell the people what it means, other than it's a step further than playing catch," Hinch said.
Verlander has made only one start this season, going on March 30 against the Arizona Diamondbacks before landing on the injured list with a hamstring strain. The 43-year-old announced on July 8 that he plans to retire at the end of the season, though Hinch said the right-hander remains hopeful about getting back on the mound.
"I sense that he is building towards something positive and that he's going to be able to make at least one appearance," Hinch said. "I'm sure he wants multiple to cap what is going to be a historic career. But right now we aren't to the point where we can pencil anything in, and I would guess even when we can, we're going to wait an extra time just to not have another setback like we have the last few times."
Matt Vierling has also hit another snag in his recovery. Hinch said the outfielder’s groin injury carries a good prognosis, but Vierling has now dealt with heel soreness in rehab, which will delay his return.
"He needs a little bit of extra time now because he's had his own set of heel soreness," Hinch said before Friday's game, noting a similar issue has sidelined Kerry Carpenter.
Vierling left the Tigers’ 10-9 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on July 29 after getting hurt on a triple and went on the injured list two days later with a left adductor strain.
Riley Greene is also trending toward a return. Hinch said the left fielder, who has been out since Aug. 12 with a right hamstring strain, is expected to take part in a minor league rehab game this weekend.
"He's going to do some baserunning today. He's been doing live fungo in the outfield, taking full [batting practice]," Hinch said. "I don't want to say this is like checking the final boxes, but it's as close to saying that as I can for hopefully getting him back on the field."
Greene has been one of Detroit’s most reliable bats this year, posting an .816 OPS across 492 plate appearances in his third straight All-Star season. The Tigers have gone 3-11 since he went on the injured list.
Friday’s matchup is set for 6:40 p.m. ET at Comerica Park, with Detroit SportsNet carrying the game. The contest can also be streamed on Fubo and the MLB app, and radio coverage is available on WXYT-FM 97.1 in Detroit and WDTW-FM 107.9 in Spanish.
Detroit’s next stretch continues with another Dodgers game on Saturday at 1:10 p.m. ET and again Sunday at 1:40 p.m.
ET, before a three-game set at the Twins beginning Monday night. The pitching matchups line up as Skubal against Drew Anderson on Aug.
28, Blake Snell against Keider Montero on Aug. 29 and Tyler Glasnow against Framber Valdez on Aug. 30.
Per The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, the Dodgers may start Shohei Ohtani for an inning on Sunday and then use Glasnow in bulk relief, though they could also choose to start Glasnow instead. Ohtani has not pitched since July 3 because of knee and biceps injuries.
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