It’s a tale of two pitchers that are a Reader’s Digest Condensed Version of their teams this year.
Minnesota has been officially eliminated, are in last place even behind the moribund Kansas City Royals, and are just playing out the string. Taking the mound will be left-hander Scott Diamond, who is 1-5 with a 4.56 ERA on the season. Diamond’s last start was decent, giving up two runs in five innings, and he might be an answer long term for the rotation, but still gives off the not quite ready for prime time.
The Tigers have Doug Fister going, who has been one of the best trade deadline acquisitions in baseball this year, coming over from Seattle on July 30th. In his last four outings, he is sporting a 0.91 ERA, and opponents are hitting a measly .176 against him.
Detroit will have a pre-game ceremony remembering the Terrorist Attacks of 9/11 shortly before first pitch today, which is scheduled for 12:05 CST.