Tigers visit Pirates in matchup of teams clinging to wild-card dreams

The Detroit Tigers enter Monday night's opener of a three-game series against the Pirates in Pittsburgh having lost three games in a row but still in the thick of the American League wild-card race.

Pittsburgh appears to be gaining some momentum after taking two of three games from Boston and hopes the resurgence is not too late as the Pirates enter Monday's contest 6 1/2 games behind San Diego and Philadelphia for the final two National League wild-card spots.

Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (6-5, 3.79 ERA) will get the ball on Monday, his third straight start after a lengthy demotion to the bullpen. The return to the rotation has hardly been a success for the 27-year-old, who has given up nine runs on 12 hits across 5 1/3 combined innings in the two starts, taking the loss in both.

The Tigers will counter with left-hander Framber Valdez (7-8, 4.26 ERA), and that could be a problem for Pittsburgh, which is 10-26 this season against southpaws.

But on Sunday, the Pirates tweaked their lineup and enjoyed rare success against a lefty as they tagged Boston starter Patrick Sandoval for seven runs over four innings on their way to an 8-3 home win.

It secured Pittsburgh only its second series victory since the All-Star break and the first since taking two of three games against Cleveland on July 18-19.

"Just hold on to the handlebars and don't fall off," Pirates' second baseman Brandon Lowe said before Sunday's game when asked about the current state of the team.

Mlodzinski has made 11 starts this season compared with 16 appearances out of the bullpen. Nine of his first 11 appearances were starts, with the final one in the stretch coming on May 25. His two-month run in the bullpen after that brought with it some success (2-0 record, two saves, two holds, 2.29 ERA). But the last two outings have been a struggle.

Mlodzinski is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA (four earned runs in four innings) in two career games against the Tigers. Monday will be his first start against the Tigers.

Detroit is one game behind for the final AL wild-card spot, sitting in a pack of five teams within 1 1/2 games of Baltimore, current occupier of the third and final wild card. But the Tigers were just swept in a three-game home set by the White Sox, dropping them to 5 1/2 games behind Chicago in the AL Central.

"It's a missed opportunity because you play these games where you go one way or the other, and we went the wrong direction, and now our path is a little harder. But it's still there," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said after Sunday's 7-5 loss. "We're still in the mix. In this sport, if you ride that emotional roller coaster, it's hard to get to (Game No.) 162, man. You gotta have some toughness to you when things like this happen."

Valdez will try to get Detroit and himself back on track following a tough outing Wednesday at home against Cleveland in a game in which he allowed four runs on six hits and five walks while striking out three over 5 2/3 innings in a 6-4 loss. Valdez opened the month with back-to-back quality starts on the road against Seattle and the Athletics.

Valdez is 3-1 with a 5.48 ERA in four career starts against the Pirates and is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two of those starts at PNC Park.

--Field Level Media