DETROIT — The Tigers’ series opener against the Pirates on Tuesday night was postponed because of inclement weather.
The contest, which was called off four hours before the scheduled first pitch, will be made up as the second game of a straight nine-inning doubleheader on Wednesday. The first game is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.
Veteran right-hander Michael Pineda, who was slated to start Tuesday’s game, will start Game 1. In Game 2, the Tigers announced rookie right-hander Alex Faedo, the club’s No. 16-ranked prospect by MLBPipline and first-round draft pick in 2017, will make his MLB debut.
It’s been a long road for Faedo, who had Tommy John surgery in his right elbow in 2020, to get to Detroit. But five years after he was drafted by the Tigers with the No. 18 overall pick, he’ll take the mound to make a spot start.
Faedo, 26, had been scheduled to make his second start with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens on Tuesday before has was added as the 27th man on Detroit’s roster for the doubleheader. In four minor league appearances at Lakeland and Toledo this season, he has posted a 1.72 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP while striking out 20 and holding opponents to a .182 batting average. He has given up just 10 hits and three earned runs in 15 2/3 innings.
The Tigers (7-14) were off Monday after wrapping up a six-game road trip, where they were swept by the Twins and dropped two of three to the Dodgers. They’ll squeeze in the two-game tilt against the Pirates before heading to Houston for a four-game series against the Astros.
With Tuesday’s contest rained out, that means the Tigers will have a crammed schedule over the next month, with 30 games in 28 days. That arduous stretch will start with 17 games in 15 days before their next scheduled off day on May 19.
The only tickets valid for the doubleheader will be those for Wednesday’s originally scheduled 1:10 p.m. game. Fans who had tickets for Tuesday’s game can exchange them for any non-opening day game in the next 12 months, including Wednesday’s doubleheader.
Fans who had tickets to Tuesday’s Bark at the Park event will have them automatically moved to the next scheduled Bark at the Park event, which is Aug. 31.
