The Blue Jays (44-52) start off the second half with a weekend series against the Detroit Tigers (47-50), who sit in 4th place in the AL Central. They sent two players to the All-Star Game: breakout lefthander Tarik Skubal as well as outfielder Riley Greene. Let’s see how they match up with Toronto this weekend.

Friday, July 19th, 7:07 EST: Chris Bassitt (8-7, 3.52 ERA) vs Jack Flaherty (6-5, 3.13 ERA)

Saturday, July 20th, 3:07 EST: Yusei Kikuchi (4-8, 4.42 ERA) vs Reese Olson (4-8, 3.30 ERA)

Sunday, July 21st, 11:37 EST: Kevin Gausman (7-8, 4.50 ERA) vs TBA

The Tigers are undoubtedly led by Skubal, the current betting favourite to take home the AL Cy Young this season. The lefty has compiled a 2.44 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, with 140 strikeouts in 116.0 innings.

As a whole, the Tigers rank 11th in starting pitcher ERA on the season. Two other pitchers, Jack Flaherty and Reese Olson, have also done an admirable job this season. Through 16 starts, Flaherty owns a sparkling 3.13 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, which would qualify him for the top ten lowest in baseball if he had enough innings to quality. As for Olson, the 24-year-old righthander has blossomed into a rotation stalwart this year thanks to a 3.30 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 18 starts.

After those three, the results have been a mixed back for the club, with Kenta Maeda and Casey Mize making the majority of starts while mostly struggling.

The Tigers bullpen has orchestrated a 4.10 ERA on the season, 18th best in MLB. They’ve been a fairly average unit from top to bottom, without any one reliever who excelling much this year. Closer Jason Foley (3.51 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) has worked around some baserunners to close out 15 of 18 save opportunities this year.

Their next-best reliever has probably been Tyler Horton, whose 0.90 WHIP is tops on the team. He has appeared in 37 games, while converting both of his save opportunities on the year. Leading the club in appearances is Will Vest, who has come into 42 ball games, pitching to the tune of a 3.27 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Look for righthander Shelby Miller to have some better luck in the second half; his 5.23 ERA is inflated due to a high BABIP, yet his WHIP remains low at 0.92.

Detroit’s offence has been largely without a spark this season, ranking 22nd in MLB in OPS. Their lone offensive All-Star Riley Greene has been the team’s best hitter by far this season. He leads the club in hits, doubles, homeruns, RBI, walks, as well as OPS. The former top prospect, still just 23, has blossomed into a star this season and will be key to shutting down Detroit’s offence.

After Greene, the team has mostly relied on Colt Keith, Mark Canha, and Matt Vierling, to lackluster results. One player that appeared to be on the verge of a true breakout was Kerry Carpenter, who owns a .914 OPS on the year but has been on the injured list since late May. Carpenter hit two homers against the Jays in their May series in Detroit but was injured in the series finale.

The Tigers will look for better production out of veterans Gio Urshela and Javier Baez, whose sub-.500 OPS is one of the worst marks in baseball this year. Since the team has hovered around the .500 mark, it wouldn’t be completely out of the question to see the team add a bat or two at the trade deadline.

Detroit has a sneaky good trio of starting pitchers who all appear to be lining up to face the Jays this weekend. Scoring early against them all, especially Skubal, will be key to winning the series.