Lopez Will Battle Skubal And Lead Braves To Win

Tigers vs. Braves, 12:20 ET

At the start of the season everyone has the same thing: hope. I spoke about this on Opening Day. The excitement of a new season brings hope for every team and the fanbase. While some have hope that everything could go right, others have true World Series hope. Some just hope the season will bring them some more positive results than last year, and others hope to replicate the previous season's success. Hope is what drives these teams to start and the actual results either take it away or boost the hope even further. Hope is still present for both of these teams this season as the Tigers take on the Braves. 

At the beginning of the year, most of the hope around the Tigers was that they could remain competitive in a weak division. So far, the AL Central looks like one of the better divisions in baseball with the Royals, Guardians, Twins, and even Tigers looking as if they have the potential to make the playoffs either by winning the division or through a Wild Card berth. The Tigers haven't been above and below .500 for most of the past month and a half, but they are currently under. We have about a month remaining for the first half and a little while longer with a couple of additional weeks before the trade deadline. It will be interesting to see where the Tigers go from here. They could certainly use a better bat in the lineup and certainly a little more pop. They have a front-of-the-line starter and he goes tonight as Tarik Skubal takes the mound. Skubal has a stellar 2.20 EARA and he is third in WHIP at 0.91. He is top 10 in all four of the major statistics - wins, ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP. Skubal has made three starts this season where he has allowed four earned runs, one of them was his most recent outing as he allowed four runs to the Astros. Skubal has not always been this good in his career, but he has a strong enough track record in limited exposure against the Braves, holding them to just three hits in 24 at-bats. 

Detroit Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal delivers against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports)

When the Braves season started, their hope was to get back to the World Series. Playoffs were an expectation, not a hope. The World Series is the hope for a team that was historically good last year. First their hope took a blow as they lost Spencer Strider, one of their best pitchers and a Cy Young favorite. Second, they lost the reigning MVP, Ronald Acuna Jr., and that was probably a worse blow to their hope than Strider. Still, the Braves are almost 10 games over the .500 mark. Although a division crown no longer seems like it will happen, the Braves still have to be considered one of the best teams in baseball and not a squad you want to face in the playoffs. Today, they get a pitchers who has made it easier to accept the loss of Strider as Reynaldo Lopez takes the hill. Lopez is having a fantastic season with a 4-2 record and a 1.69 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Both of these numbers would be among the league leaders if he qualified for it based on innings pitched. He should get there rather soon as he has 69.1 innings under his belt. He has made three consecutive quality starts and has made eight quality starts in the 12 overall. He has been fantastic at home this season with a 1.26 ERA for the year when pitching in Atlanta. Tigers hitters have been good against him in the past as they've gotten 10 hits in 29 at-bats. However, before you think the Tigers will crush him, keep in mind all 10 hits have been singles. 

This obviously is a pitcher's duel and the total set by the books clearly indicate that. Both of these pitchers could find a way to cruise to victory in this game, but I don't think it is a great idea to play this under. It is possible this ends 1-0, but it is also possible that the game ends 5-3. I'm instead going to back the Braves to win this game. I think they have a significantly better lineup, and the pitching disparity isn't really there in this one even if the team has to face a tough one in Skubal. 

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