Game 4 Preview: Yankees

Detroit Tigers (1-2) vs. New York Yankees (1-2)

Time: 1:10 EST Comerica Park (Fox Sports Detroit, Tigers Radio Network)

Pitching Matchup: Ivan Nova-NYY (12-8, 5.09 ERA in 2012)

                                           vs. 

                               Doug Fister -DET ( 10-10, 3.45 ERA in 2012)

     Ivan Nova is a wildcard pitcher for the Yankees. No one really knows what to expect of him after a huge rookie year and a rough second year on the bump.  The Tigers would do well to get to him early and often to  get to the bullpen early. The Yankees had a tough series at home versus the Red Sox earlier this week, similar to that of the Tigers vs. Minnesota. Their bullpen is a little tired out right now, so the earlier the Tigers force Nova out of the game, the better their chances are to secure a much needed win. 

     Doug Fister had a little bit of a rough spring this year. He struggled a lot to find his command and "feel" for the baseball. As a guy who is certainly not a power pitcher, he relies on having his command on point. He looked better in his last spring start against the Rays at Tropicana field and will look to build off of that today.

Outlook:

     The Tigers need a win badly today. They need production from the middle of their order. That means Cabrera, Fielder, and Martinez all need to wake up and get going today. The crowd is going to be raucous and the Tigers will need to feed off of that and not disappoint an overflow crowd.  It is a holiday in Detroit to day, so look for the Tigers to make sure it's a good one for the city. 

     Brennan Boesch will make his return to Comerica in pinstripes today hitting in the 5 hole and playing right field. I always have had a spot in my fandom for Boesch and hope he does well in New York. Just not this weekend.

     The Tigers need to win this series and I think that they will start off the right way towards doing that today. They have the starting pitching advantage and they have an advantage in the lineup. As we found out in Minnesota, that doesn't by any means translate to a win, however I think it will today. There will come a day where I don't pick the Tigers to win, I promise, but today isn't it. Go Tigs!