3 Things To Watch Battling The Tigers: Get To The Bullpen, Challenge The Defense

Anyone who bet on the Tigers to make it into the playoffs on August 11th of last year is probably sitting on their yacht right now. With a 0.2% chance of seeing October ball, Detroit turned on the jets and went 31-13 to clinch their first postseason appearance since 2014. The Tigers would breeze past the Astros before eventually getting taken out by the division rival Guardians, and while that outcome may not be the ultimate wish for Tigers fans, that they made it to the dance has to be cause for hope. That they just took two of three on the road against their division rival Twins should give them an early season spark that might follow them southbound to Milwaukee.

The Brewers return home after losing a deflating series against the Diamondbacks. After winning the series' first game, they took a commanding lead into the ninth inning before a bullpen implosion led to a rally and a loss at the hands of the Snakes. The next game was admittedly less tragic but still manifested in a come-from-behind win by Arizona but there are still many reasons to be excited about how the Crew performed. William Contreras's average is still abutting the Mendoza line, but he did sock his third home of the year in the series' last game. Jackson Chourio added to his reputation as a budding superstar, nearly reaching one WAR in only two weeks of play. Brice Turang continued his oddly unnoticed streak of legitimately impressive hitting. Perhaps most impressively, former Brewers-killer Jose Quintana helped his new Crew grab their sole W in the series by shutting out the D-Backs over the course of seven innings on his way to becoming the 24th pitcher ever to defeat all 30 current MLB teams. 

Attrition is the biggest bugaboo for the Brewers right now. You could point fingers at the front office for not signing more depth over the course of free agency when there were already question marks about what they had, or you could look at the extensive series of bad-luck injuries they’ve endured to this point. The truth is both are to blame, but it's a moot point, and until Brandon Woodruff returns, Civale heals, or some scrap heap series of acquisitions and waiver claims come to pass, the Crew has to work with what it’s got. The good news is that despite this defining affliction, the resilient Milwaukee Brewers are keeping their heads above water for now.

Three Keys To Take Down The Tigers

1. Better bullpen management: More specifically, don’t pitch Joel Payamps unless it’s an absolute emergency. His first two seasons in a Brewers uniform were solid, posting a 2.55 and 3.05 ERA. Obviously, something is off with the righty because his once dependable arm has seen those once-stingy numbers explode to untenable heights, nearing almost 17 earned runs per nine innings. The rest of the pen has been sturdy enough that, for the time being, Payamps either needs to be used in mop-ups or blowouts or maybe even some time in Nashville to get his groove back. 

2. Go to war with the starters: The Brewers have quite a rope-a-dope awaiting them in the first two games of the series, contending first against reigning Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal. After that, a resurgent Jack Flaherty looks like he’s competing to wrestle away the status of staff ace at the season’s outset. Skubal’s K and whiff rate have cooled off considerably from last year’s peak, and Flaherty is walking a below-league average of 10.6% of batters faced. Work the counts, tire these arms out, and take your chances on the pen. These arms range from crafty to elite, and they won’t give out hits easily.

3. Challenge defense up the middle: The Tigers have made some vast improvements from the team they were even two seasons ago, but their contract with Javier Baez has been an albatross ever since it was signed before the 2022 season. Those woes were primarily related to his bat, but over the last few years, his once-elite metrics with the glove have also taken a noticeable dip. Gleyber Torres’ defensive stats have always been lackluster and are part of the reason the Yanks were content to walk away from him. Driving the ball may be futile, given the arms they are up against, but if they can square up some hard-hit balls through the middle infield, they might be able to cobble together some meaningful offense. 

Predictions
I mean, look, they’re going up against an undeniably elite talent in Skubal, and Jack Flaherty has proven that he's deadly when he’s locked in. The Brewers can win this series, but a sweep feels considerably less likely. If Milwaukee can wrestle a win away from Skubal in the first game, my opinion on that matter changes.