Detroit Tigers (3-3) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (4-2) and New York Yankees (5-2) in Grapefruit League play
When: 1:05 p.m. vs. Phillies; 6:35 p.m. vs. Yankees.
Where: vs. Phillies at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida; vs. Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida..
TV: None for either game.
Radio: None for either game (Tigers radio affiliates).
Starting pitchers: Vs. Phillies — LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (0-0, 0-00 ERA) vs. RHP Taijuan Walker (12-5, 3.49 ERA in 2022); vs. Yankees — RHP Michael Lorenzen (8-6, 4.24 ERA in 2022)vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (13.8, 3.50 ERA in 2022)..
• Box score vs. Phillies; box score vs. Yankees
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Game notes: The Tigers get a split-squad day, with half the team heading to Clearwater for a day game against the Phillies and the other half heading to Tampa for an evening affair with the Yankees.
The Phillies, of course, are the defending NL champs (though they won’t have two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper for a while after his offseason elbow surgery), and are run by former Tigers exec Dave Dombrowski. He traded for ex-Tigers closer Gregory Soto and ex-Tigers infielder/mop-up man Kody Clemens during the offseason, so keep an eye out for them. Dombrowski also signed righty Taijuan Walker to a four-year, $72 million deal in the offseason. (Must be nice, right, Scott Harris?) Walker was an All-Star in 2021 and actually good in 2022, striking out 132 and walking 45 over 157 1/3 innings.
The Yankees, meanwhile, haven’t been to the World Series since 2009, which we’re sure their fans are totally taking in stride. But they signed the offseason’s biggest free agent — who just happened to be their OWN free agent — in outfielder Aaron Judge, the 2022 MVP, for nine years and $360 million. Only two of his AL-record 62 homers last season came off Tigers pitchers (Elvin Rodriguez and Beau Brieske, neither of whom should show up in this game), so perhaps the Tigers, who have been homer-happy themselves this spring, with several multi-homer games already, have a chance.
The Tigers will have a free agent of their own starting against the Yanks in righty Michael Lorenzen. The 31 year-old has never given up a homer to Judge, but he has been tagged for two dingers, plus two doubles and four singles, in 28 plate appearances by New York lefty Anthony Rizzo, who himself signed a FA deal with the Yankees this offseason (albeit slightly cheaper: $40 million over two seasons).
After today’s double-dip, the Tigers will reunite in Lakeland for a date with the Blue Jays, who beat the Tigers soundly on Tuesday. After that, the Tigers head to Fort Myers for a Sunday matchup with the Twins (on Bally Sports Detroit, no less!) and a Monday game with the Red Sox, whose fans probably bring up the Yankees’ lack of a recent World Series more often than you’d think.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers game score vs. Phillies and Yankees: Time, TV
