Spencer Torkelson can take a deep breath.
So can everyone else.
“I think Tork will be fine,” Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch said, asked Wednesday if he thought Torkelson’s first MLB hit sparked his first home run. “He’s a good player. To answer your question, yes. But I’m not that consumed by 10 (hitless) at-bats in the big leagues.”
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The 22-year-old picked up his first hit, a bloop double, in Tuesday’s 5-3 loss, and blasted his first home run, a 396-foot moonshot to left field, in Wednesday’s 9-7 loss to the Boston Red Sox in the series finale.
Hinch has backed Torkelson from the beginning, giving him a chance to make the Opening Day roster and showing his support through his unwavering belief in the slugger’s skills. Some fans became concerned after Torkelson’s first three games.
Torkelson, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick, is hitting .176 with one double, one home run, two RBIs, three walks and eight strikeouts in six games. After an 0-for-10 start, he is 3-for-7 (.429) with one strikeout in the past two games.
“It just goes back to me trusting myself,” Torkelson said, “and trusting my approach, my ability and just letting it happen, trusting that it will happen. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t any validation, but I’m going to keep doing me and stuff like that will keep happening.”
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The Tigers had Harold Castro on first base in Wednesday’s seventh inning when Torkelson stepped into the batter’s box. He faced Red Sox left-handed reliever Austin Davis, who missed the strike zone with a first-pitch 94 mph four-seam fastball.
Davis fed Torkelson another 94 mph fastball.
“I was really hunting the fastball,” Torkelson said.
Davis missed above the zone.
Torkelson crushed the ball.
“It does help seeing the guy twice,” said Torkelson, who produced a 105.7 mph exit velocity. “I saw all his pitches (Monday) when I pinch-hit, and I saw him well, and I just missed his slider. It got in on me. So I stayed on the fastball, and he gave it to me.”
Since Opening Day, Torkelson has fielded questions about his MLB debut and his search for all the firsts. He got his first hit out of the way, then his first home run. There shouldn’t be questions about the second hit and the second homer, since Torkelson has already proven he can hang — and deliver — as a rookie at the big-league level.
MONDAY’S WIN: Tigers’ Javier Báez hits clutch late-game home run for 3-1 win over Red Sox
TUESDAY’S LOSS: Tyler Alexander sharp, but Tigers can’t hold lead in 5-3 loss to Red Sox
WEDNESDAY’S LOSS: Tigers, Eduardo Rodriguez collapse in fourth inning in 9-7 loss to Red Sox
Catcher Tucker Barnhart, a nine-year MLB veteran, has 51 homers over 747 games; he’s better known as a defense-first game-manager. He picked up his first hit in his third game in April 2014, then his first home run in his fifth game that May.
The emotions of those moments came back Tuesday and Wednesday.
“You put yourself in those situations,” Barnhart said. “You remember everything, all your firsts. It takes you back to those days. We all knew it was coming. It was just a matter of time. … First of your career weighs on you, at least it did for me. Once you get them out of way, everything else is just playing ball.”
So, the next pressing Torkelson questions might be about his American League Rookie of the Year candidacy, or his ability to develop into a long-term offensive weapon.
Torkelson has already answered the early questions, about his first game, first hit and first home run.
“I’ve learned a lot,” Torkelson said. “I learned how to be a big leaguer, kinda, and then I’ve learned that it’s a long season. Can’t get too high, can’t get too low. And just have fun.”
Controlling injury risk
About the same time Torkelson slammed his first home run, Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw had a perfect game intact through seven innings against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
Kershaw — bidding for the first perfect game of his career — had struck out 13 batters and was at 80 pitches, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled him from his first start of the season.
“This was the right choice,” Kershaw told reporters.
He added: “I would have loved to stay, but bigger things, man, bigger things.”
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Roberts told reporters: “Every decision I make is for the best interest of the player, their health and the ballclub, because there’s a lot of people that are cheering for the Dodgers, not only just for today and Clayton to throw a no-hitter, but for the Dodgers to win the World Series. For us to do that, we need him healthy.”
There have been 23 perfect games in MLB history, none since Felix Hernandez in August 2012. Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young winner, threw his first and only no-hitter in June 2014.
Why does this matter?
Well, the Tigers — like the Dodgers — are trying to control injury risk.
“It’s all very difficult,” Hinch said. “(Tuesday) is a key example as to why you’re seeing managers across the game proactively rest players. … For us, Robbie Grossman is a good example of fatigue setting in.”
Grossman left Tuesday’s game before the seventh inning with right groin tightness. He missed Wednesday’s series finale and could end up on the 10-day injured list, but the Tigers haven’t decided yet.
Hinch planned to keep him out of Wednesday’s lineup.
“They all tell me they’re fine, they all tell me they’re good — until they’re not,” Hinch said. “My job is to be a day too early rather than a day too late. That’s what bothered me. Robbie Grossman wasn’t going to play (Wednesday), so I didn’t sleep last night knowing I was 24 hours away from giving him the rest that obviously he needed before the tweak.”
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Before the season, Hinch scheduled off days for starters Grossman, Barnhart, Torkelson, Austin Meadows, Akil Baddoo and Miguel Cabrera. Spring training was supposed to last from Feb. 16 through March 28, but it was condensed to March 13 through April 5 due to MLB’s lockout.
Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said he is treating the beginning of the 162-game schedule like spring training. That’s why he’s sat numerous regulars this season, even resting Alex Bregman on Saturday and using former Tiger Niko Goodrum as the No. 3 hitter in the batting order.
Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who was removed from Opening Day with a hamstring issue, missed Wednesday’s game.
He needed to rest.
“Bogaerts is not tired,” Hinch said. “He’s sitting today — I don’t know why, but my sense would be it’s controlling his fatigue and controlling his injury risk. He’s already had one scare. That’s Alex’s team.”
Hinch benched Meadows in Saturday’s 5-3 loss. He is 8-for-17 (.471) with one triple, one RBI, three walks and five strikeouts in five games.
“That’s why I sat Meadows,” Hinch said. “Somebody asked me (Saturday), ‘How tough was it?’ It wasn’t tough at all, when you realize these guys are not machines. They haven’t had a full spring training yet, even to this day. It’s a balancing act.”
Barnhart’s impact
Right-hander Matt Manning twirled a gem against the Red Sox in Monday’s series opener, a 3-1 win for the Tigers. He allowed one run on one hit with zero walks and two strikeouts in six innings.
He threw 68 pitches.
“Had it been a different part of the season,” Hinch said, “he probably goes back out for the seventh.”
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The behind-the-scenes star in this game: Barnhart, even with Manning’s dominance and shortstop Javier Báez‘s clutch two-run home run in the eighth innings. The catcher played a key role through his game-calling and leadership.
“Our pitching staff may be young, but our position players, we have a lot of veterans,” said Barnhart, a two-time Gold Glover winner. “I think there’s a really good mix of youth and veterans in this locker room. We all trust each other. We’ll take our chances against anybody.”
Hinch, a former MLB catcher, praised Barnhart for his work behind the plate, especially his blocking.
“The balls in the dirt … it’s elite,” Hinch said. “When you watch games, it’s incredible to see him control runners by controlling the ball in the dirt. He blocked five or six (Monday) that could have easily changed the trajectory of innings.
“I think his timing is really good. I think his body control is really good. … His technique isn’t different than anything we’ve ever been taught as catchers, he just has an ability to center the baseball off his chest and off his stomach and kill it right in front of him with no runners advancing.”
Barnhart, a natural left-handed hitter, is 1-for-11 (.091) with one walk and seven strikeouts in four games. He stayed in Monday’s game — and hit right-handed — in the seventh inning against the lefty Davis.
The opportunity resulted in Barnhart’s first hit of the season.
“It’s one of the reasons I let him hit right-handed (Monday) at that moment,” Hinch said. “I believe in his defense and controlling the game so much as the end of the game. He’s got a plan for everything. He’s in the lunch room or at his locker, taking his notes and studying and interacting with Fett (pitching coach Chris Fetter). He’s just a real pro. He’s got a plan for everything that he does.”
Hinch added one more descriptor.
“He’s unnoticeable, which is a compliment,” he said.
Something extra
• Baez, the Tigers’ shortstop, was scratched from Wednesday’s starting lineup with right thumb soreness. Hinch learned Wednesday morning, after his lineup had been submitted, that Báez hurt his finger. “I ran into him, and he talked about getting jammed (Tuesday), so his thumb was a little swelled up.” The Tigers hope Báez only needed one day off. “He got treatment all day,” Hinch said. The 29-year-old is hitting .316 (6-for-19) with one home run, four RBIs, one walk and four strikeouts in five games.
• Right-hander Joe Jimenez has tossed two scoreless innings in two relief appearances this season, with one walk and two strikeouts. He hasn’t allowed a hit. The 27-year-old is trying to bounce back from a 5.96 ERA in 52 outings last season, though he was much improved in the second half. He appears more confident than ever before.
“Joe doesn’t have to be perfect to be good,” Hinch said. “His fastball really does play in the strike zone. Leverage counts really matter with him. I think he’s pitching with a ton of confidence, especially from a year ago this time where he was still trying to find himself. I love that Joe holds himself to a high standard. I don’t think he should hold himself to an unfair standard.
“I love that Joe holds himself to a high standard. I don’t think he should hold himself to an unfair standard. He’s going to be effectively wild with his high-end velocity, big body. When you ask something to pitch up (in the strike zone), that doesn’t always reveal itself in strike percentage and things like that. … We definitely need him.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.