Series Preview: Cleveland Indians look to stay hot against Detroit

Saturday, Aug. 22, 7:10 p.m. EST

Probable Starters: Triston McKenzie (N/A) vs. Matthew Boyd (0-3, 9.64 ERA)

The second game of the series will be the first of two debuts in the rivalry. On Saturday the Cleveland Indians will get their first glance at pitching prospect Triston McKenzie who will be making his first career start in the big leagues.

The 6-foot-5 23-year old will take the hill for the first time in his young career after spending his career in Double-A or lower. Injuries derailed McKenzie’s 2019 season with his last start in a game that counted being on August 30, 2018 for the Akron Rubberducks.

In 2018 for Akron, McKenzie went 7-4 in 16 starts with a 2.68 ERA and 1.00 WHIP while striking out 87 batters over 90.2 innings. It remains to be seen what he can do against MLB batters, but fans should be intrigued to see what is in store for one of the organization’s most anticipated prospects.

For the Tigers, Matthew Boyd will be opposing the young McKenzie and has had his own bout of troubles this season. He is currently leading the American League in a few categories, but they aren’t ones you want to be at the top of. So far, Boyd has allowed the most hits of any AL pitcher (34), the most earned runs (25) and the most home runs (8).

The woes for Boyd extend beyond just this season, too. He also led the American League in home runs allowed last year, giving up 39.

With the recent resurgence of the Cleveland offense, they could look to tee off against Boyd on Saturday should everything to continue to trend the way they have recently.