Game 43: Tigers at Twins

First Pitch: 7:10 PM CDT
TV: FSN
Radio: WCCO 830, TIBN
Know Thine Enemy: Bless You Boys

For the first time since September 28th, 2014, Ron Gardenhire will be managing a ballgame at Target Field.

He brings with him a Detroit Tigers squad that was almost universally dismissed in preseason predictions as a barely-watchable tankfest, one of those trainwrecks that you CAN take your eyes off of because it's kind of slow and rather boring. Not an entertaining crash-and-burn sort of team, but a lackluster, "we'll be losers, but not RECORD-BREAKING losers" type of squad.

Entering play today, however, the Beisbolcats find themselves at 20-26, relatively near the .500 mark, and keeping steady in third place (in an admittedly poor all-around division.) They were just swept by the Mariners, and find themselves trying to compete without guys like Miguel Cabrera or Jeimer Candelario, so it's anyone's guess as to how long Detroit will be treading water.

Attempting to snap their losing streak, they've queued up lefty Blaine Hardy, a Detroit reliever since 2014 who just made his first major-league start against the Mariners last week. He gave up eight hits and just two hits in under five innings against the M's, and made an intermediate relief outing on the 17th, striking out his only batter.

He'll run into Jose Berrios, who's coming off a brilliant outing against St. Louis, where he took a two-hitter into the eighth and struck out ten Cardinals. It was the first solid showing for Berrios in roughly a month, and La Maquina will look to follow that up with a second consecutive strong showing.

GO TWINS GO!!!