Tigers rained out at Fenway, to play twin bill

Boyd to start Game 1 opposite Sale on Tuesday; Turnbull gets nod for Game 2

April 23rd, 2019

BOSTON -- The Tigers arrived at Fenway Park on Monday afternoon, then they returned to their hotel not long after that. The series opener against the Red Sox was postponed as rain pelted the tarp-covered field. The contest will be played as part of a split doubleheader on Tuesday.

Lefty Matt Boyd (1-1, 2.96 ERA) will get the start in Game 1 at 1:05 p.m. ET, and right-hander Spencer Turnbull (0-2, 3.43 ERA) will pitch in his scheduled turn at 7:10 p.m.

Turnbull is coming off a no-decision against the Pirates on Wednesday. He fanned five over six innings, allowing only two hits and zero earned runs. The outing was a turnaround from Turnbull's previous performance, when he gave up eight hits and three earned runs in four innings during the Tigers’ April 11 loss to the Indians.

“I think I was able to stay more mentally locked in, pitch to pitch,” Turnbull said Monday of his most recent start. “The week before [against the Indians], I probably got out of whack a little bit. I was too focused on trying to fix that instead of just attacking the hitters.

“I think last week, I still had a couple of misfires, things I wasn’t trying to do. But I didn’t try to fix too much in the middle of the game. I was able to focus more on just getting the hitters out the best I could with whatever I had at that moment. I think that’s a mental change that I think will help me.”

Turnbull is looking for his first win on Tuesday night. He has learned he can only read so much into the final score when it comes to assessing his performance.

“It’s hard, because you want to look at the results and be like, ‘I had good results today so I pitched well,’” Turnbull said. “That’s actually not always the case. Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper to see, ‘Was I actually executing my pitches or did I just get lucky today?’ Or vice versa. ... Sometimes it’s a little unfortunate how the ball rolls or bounces. But other days, maybe you are fortunate and got away with some mistakes.”

Turnbull and the Tigers are looking to nudge their road record to above .500 in this series. Detroit will be facing a Red Sox team that swept the first-place Rays in St. Petersburg and has won seven of their last 12 games. Still, Turnbull is not going to alter his approach in his first time facing the reigning World Series champions.

“You don’t want to let the opponent dictate too much how you pitch,” Turnbull said. “You’ve got to game-plan and things like that, know your strategy, but you don’t want that to get you out of your game. You’ve got to play to your strengths and pitch your game.”  

Umps Care holds auction
Tigers fans can bid on a bat signed by Hall of Famer Alan Trammell or a ball signed by Miguel Cabrera as part of the 11th annual Umps Care Charities online auction, going on now through April 29 at mlb.com/UmpsCare.

Proceeds from the auction support Umps Care Charities youth programs, which connect children and families in communities where MLB umpires work during the season. Among the efforts are MLB experiences for critically-ill kids, at-risk youth and military families; Build-A-Bear Workshop experiences for children battling serious illnesses at more than 15 pediatric hospitals around the U.S. and Canada; college scholarships for deserving young adults who were adopted as children; and financial assistance for families in need in the baseball community.

Other items up for auction include baseballs signed by umpire Joe West, actors Will Ferrell and Bill Murray, broadcaster and Mets advisor for baseball operations Jessica Mendoza, a Dallas Cowboys jersey signed by former NFL quarterback Tony Romo and a signed football by Clemson University football coach Dabo Sweeney.