New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers: Luis Severino vs. Reese Olson

Back in July, the Yankees swept the lowly Kansas City Royals. Now, they’ll draw another middling AL Central team in the Detroit Tigers as they look for their first series win since then (and second since the beginning of that month). The thing is, the Yankees have played so poorly since that sweep, going 9-21, that the Tigers’ record is almost even with theirs at this point; Detroit is merely three games back, and they’ve gone 15-17 since the Yankees ousted the Royals. This series could truly go either way.

Tonight’s game is a prime example. Both starters, Luis Severino and Reese Olson, have been extremely volatile. Severino, for his part, turned in his best outing of the season his last time out, tossing 6.2 scoreless innings against the Nationals. Yet, he notched whiffs on just 5.1 percent of his pitches in that contest, his worst single-game mark since June. It’s anyone’s guess which version of him will show up tonight.

As for the rookie Olson, he has four starts with at least seven K’s on the season to Severino’s zero, but the Tiger’s 5.29 ERA isn’t anything to write home about. A lot of Olson’s whiffs come on his slider, which he features prominently due to its above-average two-plane break. But his most valuable pitch on the season has been his hard changeup, which falls off a table. Still, batters have teed off on him to the tune of a 10.4-percent barrel rate, which puts him in the 14th percentile.

Looking to continue that trend will be a Yankees’ lineup fresh off a three-homer performance. All three of those home-run hitters — DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Volpe, and Kyle Higashioka — will be in the lineup tonight, leading off, hitting sixth, and hitting ninth, respectively. Elsewhere, Oswald Peraza receives his first day off since being recalled, with Oswaldo Cabrera taking over at third base and hitting eighth. Harrison Bader will also take a seat, with Isiah Kiner-Falefa manning center in his stead and hitting fifth.

Meanwhile, the Tigers will trot out future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera in what will be one of his last games against the Yankees, 20 years after he first broke out and won a World Series with the Marlins against Derek Jeter’s pennant-winners. Miggy will hit sixth and DH. He has a .301/.377/.540 career triple slash with 19 homers in 92 career games against the Yankees, though the slugger hasn’t hit like that in recent years.

Aside from the veteran Cabrera, the Tigers’ lineup will lean heavily on youth, headlined by breakout Kerry Carpenter and former first-round picks Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson. Parker Meadows, a 2018 second-rounder and Austin’s brother, also gets another nod after debuting just last week and belting a walk-off homer against the Astros.

How to watch

Location: Comerica Park — Detroit, MI

First pitch: 6:40 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES — NYY / Bally Sports Detroit — DET / MLBN (out-of-market)

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market)

For updates, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.