When: 6:05 p.m. Thursday.
Where: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida.
TV: None.
Radio: WXYT-AM (1270; other radio affiliates).
Probable starting pitchers: Tigers RHP Spencer Turnbull (0-0, 4.15 ERA this spring) vs. Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler (0-1, 14.21).
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Tigers lineup:
LF Akil Baddoo
RF Kerry Carpenter
CF Riley Greene
1B Spencer Torkelson
DH Austin Meadows
3B Nick Maton
C Eric Haase
2B Cesar Hernandez
SS Zack Short
P Spencer Turnbull
Game notes: Signing veteran pitchers on the wrong side of 30 can be a risky proposition — but it’s tough to argue with the results the Phillies have gotten in the first three seasons of their five-year, $118 million deal with Zack Wheeler. The right-hander, who was technically 29 when he signed with the Phils in December 2019, has posted a 2.82 ERA with 726 strikeouts and 270 walks over 749 1/3 innings. That includes a 2021 campaign in which he led the majors in innings (213 1/3) and the National League in strikeouts (247) while finishing second in Cy Young voting. He was nearly as good in 2022: 163 strikeouts and 34 walks in 153 innings, though right forearm tendinitis — known in Tigers World as “Tommy John’s warning sign” — cost him about a month of starts. Still, the now-32-year-old returned in late September for three regular-season starts, then made six postseason starts — with a 2.78 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings — in the Phils’ run to the World Series. Not bad for a pitcher who missed two full seasons (2015-16) after undergoing Tommy John surgery in his early 20s.
The Tigers would love a similar recovery from Tommy John surgery for Turnbull. The righthander, who turned 30 in September, underwent the procedure in July 2021, just a couple months after throwing the franchise’s eighth no-hitter on May 18 of that season. His performances this spring have been encouraging, with Turnbull striking out five and walking one over 4 1/3 innings in two starts (against the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees — few easy outs in those lineups).
After today’s game, the Tigers remain…