Tigers go for two-game sweep of Dodgers Wednesday

Detroit pounded LA 14-5 Tuesday

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers (49-37) enjoyed their top offensive outing of the season on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers (51-41), racking up 14 runs on 20 hits. On Wednesday the Tigers will try to win the season series against the Dodgers in the final meeting between the two teams in 2014.

Tuesday was a stark contrast from the two-game series these teams played in Los Angeles on April 8 and 9. Both of those games went 10 innings, with the two teams securing a one-run victory each. But in Detroit the Dodgers jumped out to a five-run lead in the first inning before the Tigers exploded for 14 runs to win the game 14-5.

On Wednesday two All-Star pitchers will likely headline a lower-scoring game, as Zack Greinke battles Max Scherzer.

Greinke is quietly pitching as well as anyone in the National League this season, but he does so in the shadow of his teammate, defending Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw may be the favorite to win the award again this season, but Greinke is close behind.

With a 2.66 ERA, 11 wins and 119 strikeouts, Greinke ranks among the top 10 pitchers in the NL in all three categories. The 30-year-old is familiar with the Tigers from his seven seasons in Kansas City, and holds Detroit batters to a .253 average and seven home runs in 194 at-bats.

Scherzer is similarly successful against Dodger batters, holding them to a minuscule .219 average and two home runs in 114 at-bats. The All-Star is coming off an eight-inning gem in which the Rays mustered just one run on two hits.

The Tigers will travel to Kansas City after the game for the final series of the first half.