DETROIT – Tigers manager Brad Ausmus couldn't have asked for a better start to the 2015 regular season, as his team enters the series finale against the Minnesota Twins (0-2) having won the first two games by a combined score of 15-0.
The Tigers (2-0) have posted back-to-back shutouts to start a season for the first time in franchise history. Shane Greene will try to continue the team's stellar pitching performance as he toes the rubber for the first time as a member of the Tigers.
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First Pitch: 1:08 p.m. on FSD
Greene came over in a three-team offseason trade with the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks. The move sent lefty Robbie Ray, the centerpiece of Detroit's return for Doug Fister, to Arizona.
Greene has never faced the Twins in his young career, and former Tiger Torii Hunter is the only Minnesota player to enter Thursday's game with experience against the 26-year-old. In four at-bats last season, Hunter managed just a single and a strikeout against Greene.
Dave Dombrowski saw the best of Greene during his rookie season, as the Tigers scored only two runs in 15 innings against the former Yankee. Greene struck out 13 hitters and allowed 10 hits en route to two wins over Detroit.
The Tigers hope Greene can build off the momentum he built early in his rookie year, when he posted a 4-1 record and ERA just over 3.00 in July and August. Two six-run performances in September ended the year on a rough note, but Dombrowski liked what he saw from Greene overall.
In his first start of the season, Greene will go up against Twins righty Kyle Gibson.
Gibson was one of the better arms in the awful Twins rotation a year ago. He managed to win 13 games while posting an ERA of 4.47 and WHIP of 1.31.
Gibson is the definition of a ground ball pitcher. The 27-year-old induced 2.32 ground balls for every fly ball last season, resulting in a minuscule 0.6 HR/9. The Tigers will likely have to rely on stringing together hits to score Thursday.
Gibson's greatest weakness is his inability to strike out major league hitters, which is magnified by his unusually high walk rate for a pitcher that relies so heavily on contact. For a pitcher who posted a near-league worst 5.37 strikeouts per nine innings last season, Gibson can't afford to issue any free passes. Unfortunately for the Twins, he walked nearly three hitters per nine innings last season, which came back to bite him late in the year.
Miguel Cabrera owns a lifetime average of .455 against Gibson, including a home run and four RBI. Ian Kinsler hits .429 with a homer and three RBI against him.
Nick Castellanos managed just one hit in 11 at-bats against Gibson last season, striking out four times. The Tigers as a team have just six extra-base hits off of Gibson in 84 at-bats.
After the team scored 11 runs Wednesday, Ausmus kept the same lineup for Thursday:
Anthony Gose, CF
Ian Kinsler, 2B
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Victor Martinez, DH
J.D. Martinez, RF
Yoenis Cespedes, LF
Nick Castellanos, 3B
Alex Avila, C
Jose Iglesias, SS
On paper, Gibson is a favorable matchup for the two hottest hitters in the Tiger lineup: Alex Avila and Jose Iglesias. Avila took three walks on Wednesday and could take advantage of Gibson's high walk ratio. Meanwhile, Iglesias is 6 for 7 on the young season and, since most of his hits comes on ground balls, could certainly finish the series with another nice game against Gibson.
Gose will lead off for the second straight game after going 3-6 with a double and a triple in his Tigers debut.
Minnesota has just nine hits through the first two games. The Twins will look to get on the board in Game 3 of the series, as the unknown back-end of Detroit's rotation takes over for the strong 1-2 punch of David Price and Anibal Sanchez.
On Friday, the Tigers will begin a three-game series with the division-rival Indians in Cleveland.