Due to the ongoing inclement weather hammering Michigan and the general Great Lakes area this weekend, the doubleheader between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees has been rescheduled for a future date.
Both games of today’s split doubleheader vs. the Yankees have been postponed due to inclement weather. The games will be rescheduled as part of a split doubleheader on Monday, June 4 with the first game beginning at 1:10 p.m. and the second game beginning at 7:10 p.m.
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 15, 2018
Sunday was tabbed as a split doubleheader after the weather washed out Saturday afternoon’s game.
What is important to remember here is that there are eight future dates in this 2018 baseball season in which both the Tigers and Yankees have scheduled days off. Rather than use up two of those days for one game each, both clubs and Major League Baseball have agreed on just holding a doubleheader. This decision coincides with this year’s baseball calendar schedule including four extra days off for teams.
The mutual agreement on June 4th also happens to be the first day of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft, in which the Tigers hold the No. 1 overall pick.
This is already the fifth day (now six games) in the first 2+ weeks of the season that the Tigers have had games postponed due to weather. They have had less-than-ideal playing conditions for the majority of their games to start the 2018 campaign, and Detroit is not alone. A total of 10 games this weekend (including six on Sunday) have been postponed due to the weather. The entire three-game series between the White Sox and Twins was rained/snowed out this weekend.
So now with the Yankees in the rearview mirror, the Tigers will have a scheduled day off on Monday — probably a good thing, with no ending in sight for this weather — before resuming their current 10-game homestand on Tuesday with a three-game set against the Orioles.
The multiple rainouts this weekend have also altered the Tigers’ rotation for that upcoming series vs. Baltimore. The team has essentially opted to bump everyone back and maintain the order.
Updated Rotation vs. BAL:
Tuesday – LHP Francisco Liriano
Wednesday – LHP Matthew Boyd
Thursday – RHP Jordan Zimmermann— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) April 15, 2018
Baltimore is playing the third of a four-game set in Boston against the Red Sox on Sunday and will wrap up that series on Monday, as part of the annual “Patriots Day” celebration in Boston.
It’s fair to suggest that the seemingly never-ending cold-weather playing situations for the Tigers to start the season has led to their offensive woes early on, to some degree (pun intended). Detroit ranks second-to-last in all of baseball in team batting average (.216) through Friday’s 8-6 loss to the Yankees; 25th in team slugging (.327).