First pitch: Sunday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

Both the Tigers and Red Sox will be looking to earn a victory on the national stage when the teams meet in Boston for Sunday Night Baseball.

The Tigers are in an extremely winnable division, as they are currently fighting with the Twins and Indians for the top spot in the AL Central. None of those teams really have any significant separation from one another, so Detroit has to feel good about its chances of making the postseason. The Red Sox, meanwhile, are in the most competitive division in baseball. The AL East is absolutely loaded this year, and Boston can’t afford to struggle mightily for any stretch the rest of the way. The worst thing the Sox can do is dig a hole for themselves, but they are definitely aware of that. The starters in this Sunday night matchup are going to be LHP Daniel Norris (2-4, 4.48 ERA, 55 K) for Detroit and LHP Drew Pomeranz (6-3, 4.02 ERA, 71 K) for Boston. Both guys are very inconsistent, so this game can really go either way. They are both capable of pitching absolute gems, but they also can get lit up on any given night. It’ll be interesting to see how it unfolds, but it’s worth noting that both guys have been cruising lately.

After allowing five earned runs in 5.2 innings of work against Texas on May 19, Daniel Norris has allowed three or fewer earned runs in three straight starts for Detroit. That is really all the Tigers are asking of the lefty, as they know they can win any game that their starter turns in a quality start. Detroit is super talented offensively, so run support is not usually an issue. It just is not fair of Norris to ask his team to score six runs, which is what they would have needed to do in his lousy performance against Texas in May. Offensively, OF J.D. Martinez is somebody that could make a splash in Sunday’s game. Martinez is 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI against Pomeranz in his career. He also happens to be hitting really well lately. SS Jose Iglesias will also be looking forward to this game. He is not much of a power hitter, but he has homered off of Pomeranz in his career. That will give him confidence at the plate on Sunday.

The Red Sox gave up one of their top prospects to get Drew Pomeranz last year, and that move is finally paying dividends this season. Pomeranz has allowed two or fewer earned runs in five straight appearances for Boston. He was excellent in his last trip to the mound, allowing one earned run in 5.0 innings of work against the Yankees. Pomeranz struck out seven batters in that game, and he’ll look to keep missing bats moving forward. It’d be huge if he can give the Sox six or seven good innings in this one. Offensively, Boston will be counting on guys like SS Xander Bogaerts and 1B Hanley Ramirez in this game. The two of them are a combined 5-for-9 with two doubles and two RBI against Norris in their careers. They should be able to step it up and produce against him once again on Sunday.