After a brutal outing against the Brewers on Tuesday, the Tigers were hoping to come back stronger in tonight’s game. They had Casey Mize on the mound, who has looked good this season, and the Brewers were opting to go the Opener route, something that would either mess with the Tigers completely, or work in their favor.
Mize got off to a good start, getting the Brewers out in order to open the game. In the home half, Kevin McGonigle walked, and Gleyber Torres walked right behind him. Jahmai Jones then came up and hit into a double play to eliminate Torres, and a Riley Greene strikeout ended the inning with two batters stranded and no runs scored.
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With two outs in the second, Brandon Lockridge singled on a perfectly placed and unplayable bunt to third. The baserunner didn’t end up mattering as they finished off the side on the next batter. It was awfully quiet for the Tigers’ bats in the home half as they went 1-2-3.
In the third, Mize once again got through two before the Brewers got a man on base, with Brice Turang getting a walk. Turang then stole second. William Contreras singled into center, which was enough to get Turang home and put the Brewers on the board twice. The home half of the third saw the Brewers dip into their bullpen, replacing DL Hall with Chad Patrick. Jake Rogers got a one-out walk. The Tigers didn’t manage to convert the runner, though.
Mize was having a great game, getting through the fourth with a three-up, three-down inning. With one out in the home half, Riley Greene laced a double into center, finding the gap perfectly. Then, after a sluggish start to the season, Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run bomb over the outfield bullpens in left center, his first home run of the year. They’d have to settle for those two runs, but they managed to get the lead and end Tork’s slump all in one go.
In the fifth, Sal Frelick singled to start things off. Hamilton attempted a bunt, but fouled it off for an out. A lineout, and then a tagout on an attempted steal by Frelick ended the inning. Love to see Jake Rogers use his relief pitching arm to pick off runners. Heading into the bottom of the inning, Javier Baez got a leadoff single. Then, with one out and about a hundred attempts to advance on second for Baez, McGonigle doubled and Baez just hauled it from first to home. I got tired just watching him.
With two outs, Colt Keith hit a sharp liner into right, bringing McGonigle home.
Riley Greene singled, sending Keith to third, but a Torkelson flyout ended the inning. They did get two more runs added to their lead, though, a nice buffer for Mize to work with.
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Brice Turang continues to be a pest, getting on in the sixth with a leadoff walk. Three outs followed, but I’m going to be glad when the Brewers leave town, and we don’t need to see Turang for a good, long while. The Tigers went 1-2-3 so quickly in the bottom of the sixth that if you went to grab a drink, you would have missed the whole thing.
Garrett Mitchell got a leadoff walk in the seventh, something the Brewers seem to do well. That was the end of the day for Mize, who went 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K on 88 pitches. Man, I love healthy Casey Mize, you guys. Kyle Finnegan came on to replace him, and while Mitchell did steal second, Finnegan got three outs in a row to end the threat. Carlos Rodriguez was the new Brewers pitcher in the home half. Torres got a two-out single, then Colt Keith singled, getting Torres over to third. Unfortunately, a Riley Greene strikeout left them stranded.
Will Vest came out of the Tigers’ pen in the eighth. He gave up a leadoff single to Luis Rengifo, but he got Turang to fly out, so that was a positive. With two outs, Jake Bauers singled, and Rengifo, who had advanced to second on a groundout, was able to get all the way home and score another run for the Brewers. It was all they’d get, though, as Vest collected the final out. In the bottom of the inning with two outs, Kerry Carpenter hit a solo home run.
Kenley Jansen came on for the Tigers in the top of the ninth. With one out, Lockridge singled. Then Jansen had quite a fight with Frelick before finally getting the out nine pitches later. Lockridge took second on defensive indifference. Hamilton took a walk, which offered Jason Benetti the perfect opportunity to drop, “It’s Quiet Uptown,” and I hope I’m not the only Broadway nerd who appreciated that reference. Rengifo drew a walk after working a full count, and suddenly this game wasn’t quite as fun anymore. The bases were loaded and Kenley was still hunting for his third out. In the end it was Turang to end our collective misery, grounding out to first to end the inning and the game. Phew.
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Final: Tigers 5, Brewers 2
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