MLB Game Preview - Milwaukee at Detroit

Wed Sep 9, 2020 1:10 PM EDT

The Detroit Tigers got another injury scare on Tuesday, but this time, the prognosis brought relief.

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop was hit on the right wrist by a pitch on Tuesday. He exited the game, but it turned out to be just a bruise.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said Schoop would be in the lineup on Wednesday when the Tigers close out a two-game home series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

"He has a contusion on his wrist. He's fine," Gardenhire said. "They did all the X-rays and pictures on him and everything's good. He grabbed me as we were doing the handshake line and told me, 'I'm in tomorrow.' So I'd say that's good."

The Tigers (19-21) lost center fielder JaCoby Jones for the season after he was hit on the hand by a pitch last week.

Detroit won the series opener 8-3 on Tuesday behind Jeimer Candelario's four-RBI performance. Afterward, the Tigers optioned outfielder Christin Stewart to the team's alternate training site in Toledo.

"He's not swinging," Gardenhire said of Stewart, who is hitting .171. "He's just not getting hits. We all think the guy can hit, so he'll get plenty of at-bats down at Toledo."

The Tigers' starter on Wednesday, left-hander Matthew Boyd, has delivered consecutive quality outings. Boyd (1-5, 6.64 ERA) gave up one earned run in six innings while posting his first victory of the season against Minnesota on Aug. 29. Facing the Twins once again on Friday, Boyd allowed two solo homers but no other runs in a six-inning stint.

He's been able to spot his pitches with much more precision, striking out 14 in those starts without issuing a walk.

Boyd will be making his first career appearance against the Brewers.

Like Boyd, Milwaukee's scheduled starter, Corbin Burnes, has been sharp in his last two outings while notching his first two wins. He held Pittsburgh scoreless in six innings while striking out a season-high 10 on Aug. 28. He gave up just an unearned run in six innings against Cleveland while recording seven strikeouts on Friday.

Burnes (2-0, 2.35) has never faced the Tigers.

Veteran outfielder Ryan Braun hasn't started since Saturday but should return to the lineup on Wednesday, according to manager Craig Counsell. Braun is batting just .205 with two homers and 10 RBIs for the Brewers (18-22).

Fellow outfielder Avisail Garcia returned to the lineup on Tuesday for the first time since Sept. 2. He's been dealing with hamstring soreness. Garcia, who had an RBI single on Tuesday, is hitting .227.

"We're hopefully at a point with our position players where we've got them to a pretty good spot," Counsell said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I think you'll see more of Ryan starting (Wednesday), and I think with Avi, at least health-wise, we're in a pretty good place.

"We're definitely going to need those guys to produce. We're going to have nine guys hitting. They're all going to basically get the same number of at-bats, so we have nine guys out there every day and if you're going to create a consistent offense, they're going to have to take turns producing. Avi is one of the guys we're going to need to produce, absolutely."

--Field Level Media