The Detroit Tigers had a win within their grasp, but let it slip away in game one against the Cleveland Indians. Alex Avila hit a three-run homerun in the second inning, taking a 3-1 lead, but eventually succumbed after Ubaldo Jimenez shook it off and started dealing. Now, the Tigers haven't won two-straight since late April, and are already trailing the Indians in the AL Central division.
Winning these head-to-head matchups are ever-important. And so it falls to Doug Fister, who is 0-2 on the season, sure, but boasts a 1.59 earned-run average. His last start was so-so, with three earned runs over six innings against the Minnesota Twins on May 17 - a loss.
But Fister has won three-straight against the Indians, and along with his stellar overall ERA, boasts a 0.78 ERA in those three games against the Tribe. He'd surely have a better record if he had better run-support, getting only seven total runs in four starts in 2012. He had an average of 11 runs in those three games against the Indians.
Cleveland will counter with Zach McAllister, who boasts a better record at 1-1, but has a 4.34 ERA, and is 0-1 with a 4.97 ERA in two starts since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus. His last outing was 100 pitches over five-plus innings of work in which he was given a no-decision, though the Indians did win the game.
The game is set for 7:05 p.m. eastern.
For more on the Detroit Tigers, check out Bless You Boys. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.