Red Sox vs. Tigers Thursday MLB probable pitchers, odds, props: Red-hot Adam Duvall back in lineup for Boston

It's very early, but the Boston Red Sox have to be thrilled so far with the signing of 34-year-old Adam Duvall to a one-year, $7 million contract this offseason. Duvall was named AL Player of the Week for the first week of the 2023 season but sat out Wednesday and the Sox scored just one run at home, with the loss finishing off a sweep by Pittsburgh. Duvall is back in action in the first game of Thursday's slate (1:10 p.m. ET) as the Red Sox visit Detroit for the Tigers' home opener.

Duvall hit just .213 with 101 strikeouts in 86 games for the Braves last year as he battled injuries, but was an excellent player in a 2021 campaign split between Atlanta and Miami, slugging 38 home runs with 113 RBI. So far this year, he's batting .476 with two homers, nine RBI and an OPS of 1.542 in his five games. He was the fourth player in franchise history to record nine RBI over the Sox's first four games of the season, joining Vern Stephens (1950), Ted Williams (1942) and Bobby Doerr (1941).

Needless to say, those numbers are not sustainable. The AL Player of the Week honor was the first in Duvall's 10-year MLB career in either league – this is the 34-year-old's first season in the American League.

What should scare Red Sox fans is that even though Duvall is raking, the team is 2-4 and was just the victims of Pittsburgh's first road sweep of an AL opponent since the Pirates took three at Detroit in 2018. The Sox scored three runs in the final 26 innings of the series. Boston's pitching staff has an ERA of 6.00, third-worst in the majors.

Lefty Chris Sale (0-0, 21.00) is on the mound in Detroit. He was roughed up for seven runs on seven hits (three homers) over three innings on Saturday vs. Baltimore but avoided the loss. It was the 10th time in Sale's career he allowed at least seven runs. He has a 2.96 ERA in 173.1 career innings vs. the Tigers. Future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera has seen him the most of any Tiger, going 16-for-55 with four homers.

Spencer Turnbull (0-1, 27.00) gets the honor of starting Detroit's home opener. The right-hander was even worse than Sale on Saturday, allowing seven runs and eight hits in 2.1 innings at Tampa Bay. It was Turnbull's first MLB regular-season game since June 4, 2021, as he spent all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Duvall has never faced him in a regular-season game. He is +600 to go yard today and -240 for at least one RBI.

It's the Tigers' 24th home opener at Comerica Park. They are 15-8 in home openers there and have won 12 of the past 14.  Detroit has opened its home schedule against Boston twice since 2000, winning 6-5 in 2017 and 3-2 in 2012.

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