DETROIT vs. NY YANKEES 8/30/2018 MLB Odds, Pick & Preview

J.A. Happ’s fortunes changed in a big way after the New York Yankees acquired the veteran left-hander from Toronto in late July. Happ owns a 5-0 mark with a 2.37 ERA in five starts with the Yankees heading into Thursday’s opener of a four-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers, who have been outscored 34-10 en route to losing five in a row.

New York rookie Gleyber Torres has been pretty good in his own right of late, going 2-for-4 in Wednesday’s 4-1 setback to the Chicago White Sox to give him 17 hits to go along with eight runs scored and six RBIs since Aug. 16. The Yankees had won eight of nine before dropping two of three to the White Sox to fall 7 1/2 games behind Boston in the American League East. Detroit’s Mikie Mahtook homered and drove in two runs in Wednesday’s 9-2 setback to Kansas City to extend his hitting streak to six games, during which he has gone deep three times and scored five runs. The 28-year-old has failed to get going against nearly all Yankees pitchers, going 4-for-43 with 18 strikeouts overall and 0-for-3 in a small sample size versus Happ.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers LH Francisco Liriano (3-9, 4.82 ERA) vs. Yankees LH J.A. Happ (15-6, 3.80)

Liriano, who hasn’t tasted victory since April 28, fell to 0-4 with a 6.88 ERA in four starts this month on Aug. 22 after allowing four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of an 8-2 setback to the Chicago Cubs. The 34-year-old Dominican has struggled to keep the ball in the park of late, with five homers permitted this month. Aaron Hicks (4-for-7) and Brett Gardner (6-for-18) have gotten their licks in on Liriano, who owns a 4-4 mark with a 3.34 ERA in 12 career encounters (10 starts) versus New York.

Happ improved to 5-0 in pinstripes after permitting two runs on five hits while striking out nine in six innings of a 10-3 win over Baltimore on Saturday. The 35-year-old didn’t fare as well while pitching for the Blue Jays in a pair of starts against Detroit, as he yielded four runs in a no-decision on June 2 and seven on 10 hits in a 9-1 romp on July 1. Nicholas Castellanos is a blistering 11-for-19 against Happ, who is 3-2 with a 4.83 ERA in 10 career appearances versus the Tigers.

WALK-OFFS

1. New York OF Giancarlo Stanton is 2-for-26 in his last seven games.

2. Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said SS Jose Iglesias’ condition is “not good” as the latter is expected to undergo an MRI on his abdomen on Thursday.

3. Gardner is 1-for-13 in his last four games overall.

PREDICTION: Yankees 7, Tigers 2