{"id":60767,"date":"2023-08-17T09:24:51","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T13:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=60767"},"modified":"2023-08-17T09:24:51","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T13:24:51","slug":"tigers-vs-guardians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/08\/17\/tigers-vs-guardians\/","title":{"rendered":"Tigers vs Guardians: Central Division Showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/08\/16\/al-playoffs-race-wildcard\/\" target=\"_self\">Cleveland Guardians<\/a> will host the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/08\/09\/miguel-cabrera-passes-tony-gwynn-on-all-time-hit-list\/\" target=\"_self\">Detroit Tigers<\/a> at Progressive Field in a highly anticipated matchup between division rivals. Both teams are looking to gain ground in the American League Central standings and secure a spot in the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>[pickup_prop id=&#8221;34440&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h2>Tigers vs Guardians: Central Division Showdown<\/h2>\n<p>The Guardians (58-63) currently sit in second place in the division, trailing the division-leading Chicago White Sox. Their offense has been led by first baseman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/n\/naylojo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Naylor<\/a>, who boasts an impressive batting average of .306. Third baseman Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez has also been a consistent contributor with a batting average of .286. On the mound, starter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/curryxz01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Xzavion Curry<\/a> brings a record of 3-1 with an ERA of 3.39.<\/p>\n<p>The Tigers (54-66) are just behind the Guardians in the division standings. They have been buoyed by the power hitting of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/torkesp01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spencer Torkelson<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/carpeke01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kerry Carpenter<\/a>, who combined for four home runs in their recent victory over the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/08\/16\/al-playoffs-race-wildcard\/\" target=\"_self\">Minnesota Twins<\/a>. Starter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/skubata01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tarik Skubal<\/a> will take the mound for the Tigers, with a record of 2-2 and an ERA of 4.18.<\/p>\n<p>[metabet_core_game_tile query=&#8221;530555&#8243; size=&#8221;350&#215;300&#8243; site_id=&#8221;lastwordonsports&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>The game is scheduled for Thursday, August 17th at 7:15 PM Eastern Time. It will be broadcast on FOX.<\/p>\n<h3>Key Matchup to Watch Out For<\/h3>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter:<\/strong> The power-hitting duo has been on fire recently, providing a significant boost to the Tigers&#8217; offense. Keep an eye out for their home run power and ability to drive in runs.<\/p>\n<h3>Injuries<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Cleveland Guardians:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/biebesh01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shane Bieber<\/a> (SP, Elbow, D60), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/q\/quantca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cal Quantrill<\/a> (SP, Shoulder, D15), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mckentr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Triston McKenzie<\/a> (SP, Elbow, D60), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/fryda01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Fry<\/a> (1B, Hamstring, D10), Josh Naylor (1B, Side, D10)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Detroit Tigers:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mizeca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Casey Mize<\/a> (SP, Elbow, D60), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/e\/englema01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mason Englert<\/a> (RP, Hip, D15), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/meadoau01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Austin Meadows<\/a> (LF, Anxiety, D60), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=alexaty01,alexan001tyl&amp;search=Tyler+Alexander&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Alexander<\/a> (RP, Shoulder, D60), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=pachec000fre&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Freddy Pacheco<\/a> (SP, Elbow, D60), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/turnbsp01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spencer Turnbull<\/a> (SP, Neck, D60), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=boydma01,boyd--002mat&amp;search=Matthew+Boyd&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matthew Boyd<\/a> (SP, Elbow, D60)<\/p>\n<p>Main photo credits:<\/p>\n<p>Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cleveland Guardians will host the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field in a highly anticipated matchup between division rivals. Both teams are looking to gain ground in the American League Central standings and secure a spot in the playoffs. [pickup_prop id=&#8221;34440&#8243;] Tigers vs Guardians: Central Division Showdown The Guardians (58-63) currently sit in second place [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4389,"featured_media":60768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11],"tags":[1174,1994,596,4144,5910,2094,3682,3082,3452],"class_list":["post-60767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guardians","category-tigers","tag-austin-meadows","tag-casey-mize","tag-jose-ramirez","tag-josh-naylor","tag-kerry-carpenter","tag-shane-bieber","tag-spencer-torkelson","tag-tarik-skubal","tag-triston-mckenzie"],"modified_by":"Troy Brock","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4389"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}