The Tigers are one win away from another sweep, and they’ll try to keep their surge rolling Wednesday afternoon in Toronto. Detroit backed up its recent run with a 10-1 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday night at Rogers Center, good for its sixth straight victory. A second straight sweep would push the streak to seven, though the source makes clear there’s still a long way to go before anyone gets carried away about October.
Keider Montero gets the ball for Detroit in the finale, making his 25th start of the season. The right-hander has had a rough time getting deep into games lately, failing to reach the fifth inning in each of his last two outings.
One of those starts went sideways quickly, with Montero allowing six runs over four innings in a 7-6 loss to the Guardians in Cleveland on Sept. 4 in the first game of a doubleheader. He did rebound the next time out against the Twins in Detroit, giving up only two runs - both solo homers - across four innings in a 7-2 Tigers win.
Toronto counters with Max Scherzer, and the familiar face brings the kind of storyline that always gets attention. The right-hander, who the source notes is likely in the final season of his Hall of Fame career, turned in his best outing of the year three starts ago against the Mariners at home, firing seven innings of one-hit, shutout baseball with 10 strikeouts in his second win of the season.
But the last two appearances have been much rougher. Over 10 2/3 innings, Scherzer has posted a 7.59 ERA and 5.45 FIP, allowing 12 hits, including two home runs, while walking two, striking out five, hitting a batter and being called for a balk.
Here’s how the matchup stacks up as Detroit tries to finish off its second straight sweep:
Montero: 30 G, 147.0 IP, 16.5 K%, 5.7 BB%, 40.5 GB%, 4.09 FIP, 2.2 fWAR
Scherzer: 15 G, 67.2 IP, 17.3 K%, 9.5 BB%, 32.5 GB%, 5.62 FIP, -0.1 fWAR
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