Philadelphia @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( May 24, 2016 ) Philadelphia 1, Detroit 3

The Detroit Tigers are winners of four straight and eight of nine to pull above .500 and are getting some pitching to go along with the offense that is driving the surge. The Tigers will try to pull off a clean sweep when they host the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday in the finale of a three-game interleague series.

The Tigers pounded out at least five runs in eight straight games before falling off a bit on Tuesday but got a strong start from Justin Verlander and pulled out the 3-1 victory. Detroit’s surge has almost directly coincided with the return of center fielder Cameron Maybin, who made his season debut on May 16 and is 16-for-28 with a .613 on-base percentage over the last eight games. The Phillies leaned on their pitching staff in jumping out to a strong start but have fallen off of late with six losses in the last nine games. The Philadelphia offense averaged 2.2 runs in those six losses and is 29th in the majors in runs scored.

TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Detroit

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Aaron Nola (3-3, 2.85 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Anibal Sanchez (3-5, 6.23)

Nola went five straight starts without surrendering a home run but allowed a pair against Atlanta on Friday and was charged with five runs – two earned – on seven hits and two walks in seven innings to absorb a loss. The LSU product notched six strikeouts in that start to bring his total to 64 in 60 innings. Nola is making his first start against the Tigers and is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA in five road starts.

Sanchez is trying to battle his way out of a tough stretch and was rocked for five runs in as many innings on six hits in a loss to Tampa Bay on Friday. The Venezuela native has yet to post a quality start this season and allowed at least four earned runs in each of his last four outings. Sanchez is 4-8 in 17 career starts against the Phillies but doesn’t have much of a track record against the current lineup outside of Ryan Howard (9-for-31) and Carlos Ruiz (6-for-25).

WALK-OFFS

1. Tigers RHP Francisco Rodriguez recorded his 400th career save on Tuesday.

2. Ruiz is 0-for-14 in his last four games to drop his average to .243.

3. Detroit 1B Miguel Cabrera is 18-for-37 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs in the last 10 games.

PREDICTION: Phillies 5, Tigers 4