What It Means:

Cueto has been diagnosed with an inner ear infection and will be replaced on the mound by Chris Stratton in this game. That's a huge upgrade for the Detroit Tigers' batters, despite the matchup already looking favorable against a not-dominant Cueto.

Prior to this news, the Tigers' lineup had the third-highest implied total (5.39 runs) on the day. Stratton's 18.8 percent strikeout rate will be the ninth-lowest among Thursday starters and his 12.5 percent walk rate is third-highest among them.