Cubs @ Tigers Series Preview (May 14-16): TV and Game Info, Starting Pitchers, Insights
The Cubs (17-19) have lost three straight after briefly moving above the .500 mark, burning through nearly all the positive vibes creating during their sweep of the Dodgers. The pitching was very sharp in Cleveland, but an injury-limited offense produced just three runs in a two-game mini-sweep. Chicago now looks to right the ship with a weekend series in Detroit.
The Tigers (13-24) are one the worst teams in baseball, if not the outright worst, and are in the midst of a total rebuild that still hasn’t gotten off the ground several years in. The pitching staff has the third-highest (5.02) ERA in the league and the team OPS (.638) is dead last.
Former Cub Jeimer Candelario is having a good year at the plate with an OPS of .751 and outfielder Robbie Grossman leads them with a 122 wRC+, but there’s very little pop or excitement in this lineup. Matthew Boyd has been the Tigers’ best starter with a 1.94 ERA in 41.2 innings and the Cubs will have to face him Sunday. Other than that, the staff is pretty pedestrian.
Detroit has won four consecutive games after sweeping the free-falling Royals and may be feeling more confident than usual, but the Cubs have to seize this opportunity against a bad team. If they struggle here they may start to lose contact with the surging Cardinals. Let’s see if they can rev up the bats in the Motor City.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, May 14 at 6:10pm CT on Marquee
- Saturday, May 15 at 3:10pm CT on Marquee
- Sunday, May 16 at 12:10pm CT on MLB Network and Marquee
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 5/14 | Jake Arrieta | 35 | R | 4.31 | 3-3 | 4.63 | 2.33 |
| Tarik Skubal | 24 | L | 5.67 | 0-5 | 7.87 | 1.63 | |
| 5/15 | Trevor Williams | 29 | R | 5.81 | 2-2 | 5.10 | 2.19 |
| Jose Ureña | 29 | R | 360 | 14 | 355 | 172 | |
| 5/16 | Kyle Hendricks | 31 | R | 6.23 | 2-4 | 6.62 | 3.00 |
| Matthew Boyd | 30 | L | 1.94 | 2-3 | 2.95 | 3.22 |
What to Watch For
- Arrieta is back after dealing with a cut on his thumb that landed him on the injured list.
- Nico Hoerner is also expected back after a forearm injury and he should play with two lefty starters going for Detroit.
- Willson Contreras and Joc Pederson each had a pair of multi-hit games in Cleveland.