500 WATCH
Miguel Cabrera’s 500th career homer could be just a few swings away.
The two-time MVP and 11-time All-Star has 498 home runs and has hit the ball well since a slow start during the spring. He’s batting .300 with seven homers since June 1, helping the rebuilding Detroit Tigers become a little more competitive in the AL Central.
Cabrera is vying to become the 28th player in major league history with 500 homers. He’s also fairly close to 3,000 career hits with 2,946.
The Tigers are playing the Cleveland Indians in a three-game series this weekend.
Detroit Tigers (53-59, third in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Indians (53-54, second in the AL Central)
Cleveland; Saturday, 7:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Tigers: Tyler Alexander (1-1, 4.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 45 strikeouts) Indians: Eli Morgan (1-3, 6.75 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 42 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Indians -136, Tigers +117; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland and Detroit will play on Saturday.
The Indians are 27-23 on their home turf. Cleveland is slugging .399 as a unit. Jose Ramirez leads the club with a .531 slugging percentage, including 47 extra-base hits and 24 home runs.
The Tigers are 21-34 on the road. Detroit has slugged .399 this season. Akil Baddoo leads the team with a .469 slugging percentage, including 33 extra-base hits and 10 home runs.
The Indians won the last meeting 6-1. Cal Quantrill earned his third victory and Myles Straw went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Cleveland. Matt Manning registered his fifth loss for Detroit.
TOP PERFORMERS: Ramirez leads the Indians with 47 extra base hits and is batting .257.
Jonathan Schoop leads the Tigers with 18 home runs and is batting .286.
LAST 10 GAMES: Indians: 4-6, .261 batting average, 4.69 ERA, outscored by one run
Tigers: 6-4, .267 batting average, 3.96 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs
INJURIES: Indians: Aaron Civale: (finger), Shane Bieber: (shoulder), Josh Naylor: (ankle), Roberto Perez: (shoulder).
Tigers: Jose Urena: (groin), Spencer Turnbull: (forearm), Julio Teheran: (shoulder), Rony Garcia: (knee), Matthew Boyd: (arm), Robbie Grossman: (elbow), Niko Goodrum: (calf), Daz Cameron: (toe), Isaac Paredes: (hip), Jake Rogers: (arm).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
