The Detroit Tigers currently hold the best record in Major League Baseball (31-17) largely because of their excellent pitching. Yet for the second time in 10 days, Detroit put one of their top starters on the injured list.
Right-hander Reese Olson went on the 15-day IL with right ring finger inflammation, the team announced on Monday night. He joins Casey Mize, who went on the IL on May 11 with a left hamstring strain.
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In nine starts, Olson has a 2.96 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings. He’s one of three Tigers starting pitchers to have an ERA under 3.00 so far this season, along with Mize and American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
Olson, 25, left his start on Saturday after six innings with what he described as “maybe a little cramp” that caused discomfort when throwing his changeup. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters that the team didn’t want to risk a potential injury. Before leaving the game, he allowed no runs with only one hit and six strikeouts in a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Tigers rank sixth in MLB with a 3.36 team ERA, allowing a .229 opponents’ batting average (ranking seventh). Their starters have a collective 3.46 ERA.
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Keider Montero took Mize’s turn in Detroit’s rotation and allowed five runs, eight hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings in Monday’s 11-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Tigers recalled reliever Chase Lee from Triple-A Toledo to fill Olson’s spot on the active roster. He compiled a 1.00 ERA with nine strikeouts in nine innings during eight appearances during a previous stint with the Tigers this season.
Skubal (4-2, 2.67 ERA, 11.5 K/9) is scheduled to pitch on Tuesday for the Tigers versus St. Louis.
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