Tigers at White Sox
It is fitting that the promotion for Saturday afternoon's contest between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox is a winter hat giveaway since game time temperatures in the Windy City are expected to be in the upper 30s. The players, though, will be used to it after enduring similar conditions Thursday, when Detroit spoiled Chicago's home opener with a 9-7 victory in 10 innings.
Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (.318, home run, five RBIs in 22 at-bats this season), who has 463 home runs among his 2,643 career hits, is day-to-day after leaving Thursday's game with a bruised hip following a fall while running the bases. "He took the tumble and he's got a bruise and he felt it was getting tight in his hip area. So we just got him out of the ballgame," Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters. "He's feeling better now. Fortunately for us we've got a day off (Friday) and he'll get some more work and then we'll know more when we get here the next day." The Tigers' Michael Fulmer was sharp in his season opener and opposes Lucas Giolito, who has a bright future in the eyes of Chicago general manager Rick Hahn. "He’s still a young kid, still has not made a ton of starts at the big-league level,” Hahn told reporters. “He's looking more and more like the kind of guy we projected him to be, which is a stalwart in the rotation going forward."
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, WGN (Chicago)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Michael Fulmer (0-1, 1.13 ERA) vs. White Sox RH Lucas Giolito (0-0, 4.50)
Fulmer allowed one run, four hits and two walks while striking out three in eight innings of a 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. "That was probably the coldest game of my big league career, but I handled it better than I expected," the 25-year-old Oklahoman told reporters. "I was happy with how everything felt." Chicago first baseman Jose Abreu is 5-for-14 with a home run and four RBIs against Fulmer, who is 1-1 with a 4.41 ERA in five starts - 1-1, 4.71 in three turns last season.
Giolito earned a no-decision after allowing three runs, four hits and four walks in six innings of the White Sox's 4-3 victory at Kansas City on March 31. The 23-year-old Californian, who was acquired from Washington as part of the Adam Eaton trade Dec. 7, 2016, was 3-3 with a 2.38 ERA in seven starts with Chicago last season, yielding 31 hits and striking out 34 in 45 1/3 innings. Giolito pitched seven shutout innings, permitting three hits and three walks while striking out four, in the White Sox's 7-1 victory over Detroit on Aug. 27 in his only appearance against the Tigers.
WALK-OFFS
1. Detroit rookie INF Niko Goodrum (4-for-14 this season) replaced Cabrera on Thursday and hit his first major league home run.
2. Chicago DH Matt Davidson leads the team with eight RBIs and four homers, three of the blasts coming on Opening Day.
3. Tigers RF Nicholas Castellanos is hitting .385 after going 3-for-5 with two runs scored in the series opener.