Wednesday’s series finale at Globe Life Field marked a tale of two pitchers: One the Tigers couldn’t wait to get rid of; the other, they wished could stick around a little longer.
The latter, of course, was starter Casey Mize, who closed out the first half of his first full MLB season by holding the Rangers to a pair of solo homers during the Tigers’ 5-3 win.
So far, there have very been few issues with the 24-year-old’s routinely stellar performances. In fact, it seems the main drawback through Mize’s 17 starts so far this season is that the Tigers just can’t keep him on the mound long enough due to a strict innings limit they imposed to protect their budding star.
Mize was removed after three innings and 56 pitches his last time out, but thanks to an efficient outing Wednesday, he managed to squeak out an additional frame. Three of Mize’s four hits allowed came in sequence to open the second inning, but the talented righty still needed just 16 pitches to work through the frame. He needed nine pitches to dispatch the side in the first and 10 in the third, navigating Texas’ lineup with few speed bumps.
In fact, the only Ranger who posed a significant threat to Mize’s day was Joey Gallo, who slugged home runs Nos. 22 and 23 of the season a combined 902 feet. Mize allowed just two singles otherwise, and his quick work in the third earned him not a handshake from manager A.J. Hinch but a trip back out for the fourth.
Mize appeared to have plenty left in the tank after that frame, too, but his pitch count had reached 50 and he already knew no amount of debate would change the fact that he’d tossed 91 1/3 innings in the first half of 2021, just 37 shy of the career-high 128 1/3 he amassed among the Auburn Tigers, Rookie-level Gulf Coast League play and Class A Lakeland in ‘18.