Detroit Tigers-Minnesota Twins game Thursday postponed due to rain; doubleheader Saturday
The Detroit Tigers are getting back-to-back off days.
After Wednesday's off day, the Tigers postponed Thursday's game against the Minnesota Twins, scheduled for 1:10 p.m., because of inclement weather at Comerica Park in Detroit, where it's supposed to rain all day.
The teams will play a straight doubleheader Saturday, beginning at 1:10 p.m. For Saturday's doubleheader, Game 2 will start approximately 40 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1.
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The Tigers and Twins are slated to play the first of four games in the series at 6:40 p.m. Friday, followed by Saturday's doubleheader. The series finale is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. Sunday.
The pitching plan has not been finalized, but before the rainout, the Tigers were supposed to use left-hander Tarik Skubal on Thursday, right-hander Kenta Maeda on Friday, right-hander Jack Flaherty on Saturday and right-hander Reese Olson on Sunday.
The Tigers, though, scratched right-hander Matt Manning — who isn't injured — from Wednesday's start with Triple-A Toledo in preparation for the rainout and doubleheader. Manning is expected to start one of Saturday's games as the 27th player for the doubleheader.
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Serving as the 27th man is exactly what Manning did for the Tigers on April 4 against the New York Mets. In that game, he threw 5⅔ no-hit innings with four walks and three strikeouts before getting pulled after 90 pitches.
Barring any surprises, Skubal should start Friday, Maeda and Manning should start Saturday and Flaherty should start Saturday. If that four-game plan is accurate, Olson would be pushed back to Monday's opener of a four-game series against the Texas Rangers at Comerica Park.
The only tickets for Saturday's doubleheader will be tickets for Saturday's originally scheduled game. Fans with tickets for Thursday's postponed game can exchange tickets for Saturday's doubleheader or any future regular season game — except Opening Day in 2025 — within the next 12 months.
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The Tigers and Twins play seven games in the next 10 days. Entering Thursday, the Tigers (7-4) are 1½ games back of the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central, whereas the Twins (4-6) are four games back.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers-Minnesota Twins game Thursday postponed (rain)
