Detroit Tigers designated hitter Miguel Cabrera is not in the lineup against rookie right-hander Jake Irvin and the Washington Nationals in Friday's series opener.
Nick Maton will replace Cabrera at designated hitter and bat sixth. Zach McKinstry will also replace Zack Short on third base and bat leadoff while Matt Vierling drops to the bottom of the order. Javier Baez will move up a spot and bat second. Riley Greene will return to center field and hit third while Akil Baddoo returns to left field and bat seventh. Andy Ibanez will start on second base and bat fifth while Jonathan Schoop takes a seat. Eric Haase will catch for Matthew Boyd and bat eighth, with Jake Rogers on the bench.
Per numberFire's MLB Heat Map, the Tigers' implied total is 4.29 and the game total is 8.5. Through Irvin's first three starts in the bigs, he has a 4.11 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, with a 21.9% strikeout rate and 12.5% walk rate. He was tagged for 6 runs on 6 hits last game after allowing just 1 run on 6 hits in his first two starts.
Source: Baseball Press