Detroit Tigers vs. Philadelphia Phillies: What time, TV channel is series opener on?
Detroit Tigers (36-41) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (51-26)
When: 6:40 p.m. Monday.
Where: Comerica Park in Detroit.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit. (Have Xfinity but still looking for a way to watch BSD? Here are some other options.)
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1). (Tigers radio affiliates).
Probable pitchers: Tigers RHP Casey Mize (1-5 4.43 ERA) vs. Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (8-3, 3.54 ERA).
Weather: Partly cloudy, low-80s.
Tigers lineup: TBA.
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Game notes: Coming off their first series win since early June, the Tigers face a tough task this week as the Phillies visit Comerica Park for the first time since 2019; Philadelphia leads the majors with 51 wins as the squad assembled by former Tigers prez Dave Dombrowski rolls toward perhaps its second World Series berth in three seasons. (The Phils won the NL in 2022, then fell to the Houston Astros in five games.) Of course, Dombrowski isn’t the only tie between the Tigers and Phillies organizations. Here’s a quick update on five former Tigers now feasting on cheesesteaks and NL opponents:
MGR Rob Thomson: The Sarnia native got his start as a Tigers farmhand after being drafted in 1985’s 32nd round — 794 picks after No. 1 pick B.J. Surhoff — out of Kansas. He rose as high as Class A Lakeland, with a .225/.312/.304 slash line over four seasons. His coaching career has been a BIT more successful, with a .587 winning percentage in the 349 games since being promoted to Phillies manager on June 2, 2022; that’s the best winning percentage by any Phillies manager since the modern era began in 1901.
OF Nick Castellanos: Dombrowski’s top pick in 2010 (at No. 44 overall), Castellanos’s career has been something of a roller coaster since the deadline deal that sent him to the Chicago Cubs in July 2019. A big two months with the Cubs earned him a long-term deal with the Cincinnati Reds, which he opted out of following a 2021 All-Star season in which he crushed 34 homers with a .939 OPS. He then signed a five-year, $100 milllion deal with the Phillies ahead of what was then the worst season of his career — just 13 homers and a .694 OPS. He rebounded last season with 29 homers and a .788 OPS and made his second All-Star squad. But this season has brought more regression, as Castellanos enters Monday with a .225/.280/.392 slash line that’s among the worst among MLB regulars — despite a homer and five RBIs on Saturday.
LHP Gregory Soto: The key piece in president of baseball operations Scott Harris’ biggest trade to date, the hard-throwing lefty hasn’t developed on the promise he showed in Detroit, where he made back-to-back All-Star squads (albeit from bad Tigers teams). Soto has 91 strikeouts in 83 2/3 innings of relief with the Phillies, but he has also walked 37 in that span and allowed 42 runs, for an ERA of 4.52. Soto has been especially wild this season, with 15 walks in 23 1/3 innings. (For those keeping score sabermetrically, Soto has produced 0.1 bWAR for Philly, while Nick Maton, Donny Sands and Matt Vierling — the return for Soto and the next player on this list — have combined to produce 2.0 bWAR.)
UTIL Kody Clemens: The Tigers grabbed the son of someday-Hall-of-Famer Roger Clemens in the third round of the 2018 draft, then included him in the Soto/Vierling trade. Clemens’ utilityman skills have been on display in Philly, just as they were in Detroit; in addition to seven homers in 189 plate appearances over two seasons, Clemens finished off four blowouts of the Phils on the mound last season, giving up one earned run in 2 2/3 innings. He hasn’t gotten on the mound this year, with a back injury costing him most of June. He started a rehab stint this weekend, homering for Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday.
RHP Spencer Turnbull: The right-hander owns a special spot in Tigers history, having thrown the franchise’s eighth no-hitter in May 2021. But injuries derailed his Tigers tenure, and the 2014 second-round pick was non-tendered in November. He signed with the Phils in mid-February and, yeah, it has worked out. Turnbull spent April in the Phillies’ rotation, posting a 1.67 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 10 walks over 32 1/3 innings. Since May, however, he has been in the bullpen, with 20 strikeouts and eight walks in 19 innings. He’ll get another chance to start Wednesday at Comerica Park.
After tonight’s game, the Tigers and Phillies meet again Tuesday night in a matchup of elite left-handers, with Tarik Skubal facing Ranger Suarez. The squads then finish the series with a Wednesday matinee; the Tigers then head to Anaheim, California, for four games against the Angels — now Shohei Ohtani-free! — beginning Thursday. The Phillies, meanwhile, return home Thursday to face the Miami Marlins.
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Live updates
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Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers game score vs. Philadelphia Phillies: Time, TV channel
