Oakland tries for series sweep of Detroit
Oakland Athletics (81-58, second in the AL West) vs. Detroit Tigers (41-97, fifth in the AL Central)
Detroit; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.12 ERA) Tigers: Gregory Soto (0-2, 13.50 ERA)
BOTTOM LINE: Oakland will sweep the series over Detroit with a win.
The Tigers are 18-49 on their home turf. Detroit's team on-base percentage of .292 is last in the majors. Miguel Cabrera leads the club with an OBP of .343.
The Athletics are 35-32 on the road. Oakland has hit 220 home runs this season, fifth in the MLB. Matt Chapman leads them with 31, averaging one every 16.2 at-bats. The Athletics won the last meeting 4-1. Daniel Mengden earned his first victory and Nick Hundley went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for Oakland. Matthew Boyd took his fourth loss for Detroit.
TOP PERFORMERS: Niko Goodrum leads the Tigers with 43 extra base hits and is batting .248. Victor Reyes is 19-for-42 with six doubles and four RBIs over the last 10 games for Detroit.
Chapman leads the Athletics with 78 RBIs and is batting .255. Marcus Semien has 15 hits and is batting .333 over the last 10 games for Oakland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Tigers: 2-8, .268 batting average, 5.60 ERA, outscored by 24 runs
Athletics: 7-3, .270 batting average, 3.94 ERA, outscored opponents by 29 runs
Tigers Injuries: Tyson Ross: (nerve), Matt Moore: (knee), Blaine Hardy: (elbow), Michael Fulmer: (elbow), JaCoby Jones: (wrist), Jordy Mercer: (wrist), Niko Goodrum: (groin), John Hicks: (illness).
Athletics Injuries: Daniel Gossett: (elbow), Stephen Piscotty: (ankle), Ramon Laureano: (hip).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.