DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers avoided falling below .500 on Friday night with an 8-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Anibal Sanchez carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning before allowing four runs an coming out of the game. The Tigers' bullpen struggled, but held on to secure the 40th win of the season.
David Price takes the hill Saturday, hoping to put a shaky end to the month of June behind him. After tossing two straight complete games on June 6 and 12, Price threw a combined 17 2/3 innings in his last three starts, allowing seven earned runs on 19 hits.
First Pitch: 1:08 p.m. on FSD
Price knows the Blue Jays well from his 6 1/2 seasons pitching in the AL East. The Jays' roster hits .290 with 10 homers against Price, led by slugging outfielder Jose Bautista, who's 15-47 with five bombs against the lefty.
Here's the starting nine for Toronto:
Jose Reyes, SS
Josh Donaldson, 3B
Jose Bautista, RF
Edwin Encarnacion, DH
Danny Valencia, LF
Russell Martin, C
Chris Colabello, 1B
Kevin Pillar, CF
Devon Travis, 2B
The Tigers, meanwhile will get a look at 40-year-old knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Dickey is coming off a solid month of June, posting a 3.32 ERA, five quality starts an 28 strikeouts in 38 innings.
Dickey struggles against Tigers' hitters, who come into the game with a .308 batting average and .922 OPS against the right-hander. Alex Avila, who is making his first start at first base for the Tigers, is 4-12 against Dickey, while Ian Kinsler is 4-13 with a pair of homers.
Detroit will be without the best hitter in baseball, Miguel Cabrera, after he strained his calf in the win on Friday. Cabrera will miss around six weeks with the injury, the team announced, leaving a gaping hole in the lineup.
Here's how the Tigers will line up without him:
Ian Kinsler, 2B
Yoenis Cespedes, LF
Victor Martinez, DH
J.D. Martinez, RF
Alex Avila, 1B
Nick Castellanos, 3B
James McCann, C
Josh Wilson, SS
Anthony Gose, CF
The Tigers enter the game six games back of the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central and 1 1/2 games behind the Angels, Orioles and Twins for the Wildcard spots.
Detroit and Toronto will finish their series Sunday afternoon before the Tigers hit the road for seven games leading into the All-Star break.