The Minnesota Twins are in the midst of one of the worst seasons in team history. The Detroit Tigers appear to be coasting to an American League Central division championship. Those two teams will meet on Friday night at Comerica Park in Detroit for the first of a three-game weekend set between the teams at the top and the bottom of their division.
Starting for the Tigers tonight will be right-hander Brad Penny (9-10, 5.13 ERA). Penny lost his last start against Minnesota back on August 28, as he allowed seven runs on eight hits in five innings of work in a 11-4 Detroit loss. For the year against Minnesota, he has thrown 24 innings, allowing 30 hits and 19 runs to Minnesota, compiling an 0-2 record with two no-decisions.
The Twins will counter with right-hander Kevin Slowey (0-4, 5.31 ERA). After spending extended time on the disabled list for the Twins, Slowey came back in August, and has been the losing pitcher in each of his four starts since rejoining the team. He has gone seven innings in each of his past two starts, and only allowed two runs in both of those appearances, but it hasn't been good enough for him to erase the doughnut he currently has in the "win" column.
The rain is currently falling in Detroit, which has delayed the start of a game that was supposed to get underway at 6:05 Central time. Twinkie Town has their Game Thread up and running, and we will have the recap for you when the game concludes.