Detroit Tigers game vs. Tampa Bay Rays: Time, TV channel for series opener
Detroit Tigers vs. Tampa Bay Rays
When: 6:50 p.m. Monday.
Where: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1). (Tigers radio affiliates).
Weather report: Indoors.
Probable pitchers: Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal (2-0, 2.28 ERA) vs. Rays RHP Zack Littell (1-0, 2.14 ERA)
Tigers lineup: TBD.
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Game notes: The Detroit Tigers started their season with a relatively manageable schedule, facing four straight teams who did not make the 2023 postseason. The Tigers navigated the early stretch well, going 7-4 through the 11 games to start the season.
Since then, the schedule has gotten much more difficult, with the Rays series being the fourth straight set the Tigers have played against teams who made the playoffs in 2023.
The Rays finished last year just one win shy of 100 victories but were beaten, 2-0, in the Wild Card round by the eventual World Series champions, the Texas Rangers, in the playoffs.
In 2024, the Rays have not come storming out of the gates, hanging just around .500, but have more than proven how seriously they have to be taken after making the playoffs in each of the last five seasons, including a trip to the 2020 World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As the Tigers head back down to Florida for the first time since spring training, they will have the ace of their staff, Tarik Skubal, on the mound. Skubal still holds a perfect 2-0 record, despite giving up four runs in two of his four starts, albeit two of those runs were caused by errors in his last outing. The lefty's 2.28 ERA is a good representation of how strong he has been early in the year, but Skubal is nothing if not a perfectionist and would be the first to tell you that he wants to be better.
After Monday's game, the Tigers will play the Rays again Tuesday for another 6:50 start at Tropicana Field.
Live updates
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers game vs. Tampa Bay Rays: Time, TV for series opener
