Ryan Merritt makes his first major league start as the Indians try to stop Detroit’s wild card push. Daniel Norris takes the hill for the Tigers. Merritt is the ultimate ball in play pitcher. In his six innings in the majors, he walked none and struck out just two. In the minors, he also posted low walk and strikeout rates. He is a bit of a throw back in another regard; he does not throw hard, but changes speeds well and mixes in a slider and a cutter. He only allowed three hits so far. Norris pitched well down the stretch for the Tigers, posting a 3.26 ERA since the start of August. His 2-2 record is more a function of his not going deep in games.

The Orioles and Blue Jays play the rubber game of their wild card preview series in what might be a slugfest as Ubaldo Jimenez takes on Marcus Stroman. Jimenez does have a 2.86 ERA in September, having moved his strikeout and walk rates out of parity for the month. He allowed four home runs in 14 1/3 innings against the Jays, and 15 runs total. Stroman allowed four home runs in 16 innings against the Orioles this season, leading to 14 runs.

The Cardinals need a win to stay close in the NL Wild Card race. The Reds send Dan Straily against Alex Reyes. Straily has mixed results against St. Louis this season, allowing three home runs and nine walks in 14 2/3 innings, but just nine hits for a 2.45 ERA. The rookie Reyes allowing just one home run in 40 innings pitched.

Enjoy!