Sunday Night Baseball: Yankees vs. Tigers:
This week, there’s a special version of Sunday Night Baseball, as the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers play in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series. The teams play at BB&T Ballpark at historic Bowman Field. The game is considered a home game for the Tigers, so they’ll bat second in the Marcus Stroman-Tarik Skubal duel.
This is a one-of-a-kind game on the field in the Keystone State, and hopefully the weather will cooperate. 6-12mm of rain is forecast for today, and more rain is expected tomorrow on the teams’ shared day off.
Top MLB Resources:
How to watch the Yankees vs. Tigers game
Where: ESPN
When: Sunday, August 18, 7:10 p.m. ET
Yankees vs. Tigers MLB odds
New York Yankees +105 // Detroit Tigers -125
In total: 8 (-108/-112)
Game preview Yankees vs. Tigers
Above you could also read New York Yankees +105 // Tarik Skubal -125, because just because they are the clear favorite for the AL Cy Young Award, the Tigers are considered favorites against the strong Yankees, who are half a game behind the best baseball record when games begin on Sunday.
Skubal is 14-4 this season and the Tigers are 16-8 in his starts, so he’s been involved in nearly 27% of their wins and responsible for over 23% of their pitcher wins. He has a 2.53 ERA with a 2.82 xERA and a 2.64 FIP in 149.1 innings. If he records an out in his next start, whether that’s today or Tuesday because of the weather, he’ll have set a new career high for MLB innings pitched in a season. He has 180 strikeouts with just 29 walks.
Stroman is lucky with a 4.01 ERA, as he has a 4.95 xERA and a 5.15 FIP. For the most part, he has stayed healthy and made 23 starts, going 121.1 innings. Given the 4.01 ERA, the Yankees have to be happy with what they’ve gotten from the back-end starter, but there are definitely signs of decline lurking in the 33-year-old, who has the lowest GB% of his career at 48.9% and is heading for a career low in home runs allowed. He has allowed 18. His personal best is 21, which he did twice in 2016 and 2017, over 204 and 201 innings respectively.
The Yankees rank just 14th in wOBA against lefties this season at .315 and 13th in wRC+ at 104. The Tigers are 26th at .296 and 24th in wRC+ at 91, but that’s a different group with Kerry Carpenter in the mix. Not only is he their best hitter against righties with a wRC+ of 179, but he’s also hit three home runs in four games since returning to the lineup on the 13th.
Both bullpens are in good shape here, as many of the Yankees’ key relievers have only pitched once since Tuesday. Tigers opener/bulker Tyler Holton threw 46 pitches yesterday. Closer Jason Foley has pitched three of the last four days. These might be the only unavailable pitchers as Skubal’s reliever.
Bowman Field seats approximately 2,400 people and the dimensions are as follows: left field is 323 feet, center field is 411 feet, and right field is 331 feet.
I doubt this game will be weather dependent, but if it is, I’m leaning towards the Tigers and the dominant Skubal.
Lean: Tiger -125
Player Props Yankees vs. Tigers
Kerry Carpenter over 1.5 total bases (+105)
Carpenter is hitting .310/.363/.662 against righties with a .424 wOBA and a 179 wRC+. He has a 26.1% K% this split, but Stroman is not a strikeout guy. He’s a pitch-to-contact pitcher and that should minimize Kerry’s K worries. Lefties have worn down Stroman with a .269/.359/.481 slash and a .363 wOBA this season. Carpenter is one of only four Tigers with at least 10 PA against righties who have a wRC+ over 100.
