The Detroit Tigers ran into pitching trouble in June, considering right-hander Spencer Turnbull went to the injured list June 5 with a right forearm strain and lefty Matthew Boyd was sidelined June 15 with left arm discomfort.
Turnbull and Boyd should return sometime after the All-Star break, but the Tigers have missed their presence. The starting rotation is at crossroads, as rookie Casey Mize faces workload restrictions in his jump from 60 games in 2020 to 162 games in 2021. And the Tigers aren’t getting what they hoped for from veteran righty Jose Urena, who signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract this past offseason.
“We are struggling in the sense of finding innings out of our rotation,” manager AJ Hinch said. “We relied so heavily on it in the beginning of the season.”
That’s where Wily Peralta comes in.
Against the Texas Rangers on Monday, Peralta made sure the Tigers weren’t thinking about Urena’s struggles, Mize’s innings restrictions or the injury bug that has plagued the starting rotation. Peralta — making his fourth start since 2017 — dominated, posting seven scoreless innings in a 7-3 victory at Globe Life Field.
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“He made it known to us when he signed (a minor-league contract) with us that he wanted a chance to start,” Hinch said. “I think a lot of teams kind of look at Wily Peralta, they’ve seen he’s shifted to the bullpen. We had a great opportunity for him. He was late to (spring training) and didn’t get an opportunity.
“But he hung with us until we needed him. It’s big for him and big for our team. He’s doing his job, and he’s increasingly gotten better as we’ve gotten into the rotation. Hard to complain about anything that he’s doing right now.”
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Monday’s performance marked Peralta’s first outing of seven innings without giving up a run since Aug. 14, 2015. Back then, he helped the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. At the time, the Phillies featured a lineup with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard; Peralta was 26 years old and in his fourth of nine MLB seasons.
But Peralta assumed he could repeat his efforts, even six years later, based on his recent performance. He was asked after Monday’s game: When was the last time you felt this good on the mound?
“The start before this one,” Peralta said, laughing. “Today I was a little bit sharper than the other one, but I felt really good in the last one.”
Peralta has not allowed an earned run in his past 16⅔ innings.
He made his last start June 30 against Cleveland, conceding one run (unearned) over five innings to lead the Tigers to a 7-1 victory in Game 2 of the doubleheader. Peralta struck out five batters, didn’t allow a walk and gave up just three hits.
He did more of the same Monday against the Rangers.
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Peralta allowed three hits, without conceding a walk, and struck out six batters. His changeup got eight swings and misses. His other two swings and misses came from his slider, and his fastball produced 13 called strikes. He threw 61 of 91 pitchers for strikes, using 54% fastballs, 29% changeups and 18% sliders.
“I’ve been throwing that pitch since 2019,” Peralta said about his changeup. “But I was in the bullpen, so I wasn’t able to throw that many. Especially this offseason, I worked hard on it. I feel really comfortable with the grip right now and I’ve been throwing it pretty good.”
Rangers All-Star Joey Gallo finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against him, before crushing a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning in a matchup with righty reliever Bryan Garcia, who allowed all three runs.
Peralta could be one of the Tigers’ biggest assets as the season continues, at least until the All-Star break.
“As we’ve backed off some of our younger guys, Mize is certainly scheduled,” Hinch said, “and (Matt) Manning I’ve been super careful with, Boyd and Turnbull out — guys that we expected to eat innings — and Urena not soaking up as many innings as he’s going to moving forward.
“Wily Peralta stepped up and said, ‘Get on my back, and I’ll get you deep in the game.’ That’s been a welcome addition.”
Drawing eyes
While Peralta owned the spotlight, a funny — and rewarding — moment occurred in the sixth inning.
Assistant hitting coach Mike Hessman drew a pair of eyes on shortstop Zack Short’s bat, after the rookie had struck out in six straight plate appearances. The 26-year-old struck out four times Sunday against the Chicago White Sox and started Monday with back-to-back punchouts.
Short’s sixth-inning two-run home run snapped his slump and gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead. He drove in another run in the top of the eighth with a sacrifice fly and made a spectacular diving play, including a glove flip to start a double play, in the bottom of the eighth.
“And that’s the second time a coach has done that to me,” Short said, adding a coach also drew eyes on his bat during the Arizona Fall League in 2019. “Both times I’ve hit a homer after. I’m going to have people start drawing graffiti on my bat if that’s the case.”
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Hinch added: “We had Hessman draw some eyes on his bat, and he homered. So you go to the all-time home run leader in the minor leagues if you need a little bit of a boost, and Shorty stepped up and hit a big home run.”
Hessman holds the all-time record for minor league homers, with 433 in 2,094 games across 19 seasons. He played for affiliates of the Atlanta Braves (1996-2004), Tigers (2005-09, 2014-15), New York Mets (2010), Houston Astros (2012) and Cincinnati Reds (2013). He also struck out 2,374 times.
Daz Cameron’s injury
Before Monday’s series opener, center fielder Daz Cameron was scratched. He sprained the big toe on his right foot while running into the center field wall during warmups. He had never played in Globe Life Field — a new ballpark opened in 2020 — and was trying to get acclimated to the outfield.
Hinch removed Cameron from the starting lineup about an hour before first pitch. He is considered day-to-day.
“We needed to play a few balls live,” Hinch said. “He ended up kicking the fence on a ball that left the yard. He was evaluated, X-rays are negative. We’ll see how he feels. I’m not sure if I’ll put him out on the turf, to be honest with you, the next couple days. We’ll see if he wakes up feeling good, then maybe he’ll get in there one of the next couple days.”
Cameron, 24, is hitting .207 with three home runs, nine RBIs, five walks and 19 strikeouts in 18 games.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.