Chicago – First shortstop Javier Baez came to the mound. Soon both third baseman Jeimer Candelario and second baseman Jonathan Schoop were there and catcher Tucker Barnhart was jogging out, as we pitching coach Chris Fetter.
It was quite a summit. Quite a situation.
Closer Gregory Soto was in the soup, deep. With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday night, he’d given up a single and a walk, then a squibbing double down the right-field line hit off the end of the bat by White Sox Luis Robert. One run was in, the Tigers’ lead cut in half, 2-1. The tying run was at third and the winning run at second.
Oh, and by the way, Tiger slayer Jose Abreu was due up. All he’d done in 134 games against the Tigers is slash .350/.409/.591 with 27 homers and 113 RBI.
The mound visit was part strategy – should they walk Abreu and set up a double-play — and part group hug. Because one by one, Soto’s teammates imparted one message to Soto before they went back to their positions.Z
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“My thing was, we’re still winning,” Barnhart said. “Greg has been there before and we have complete trust in him.”
The decision was made to go after Abreu. Soto had already walked one batter and had fallen behind two others. An intentional pass brings into play the bases loaded walk. Better to put it in the hands of Soto and his 99-mph sinker with at least a tiny margin for error against Abreu.
“I’ve got to tell you, I got a lot of support from my teammates,” Soto said Friday through Tigers’ bilingual interpreter Carlos Guillen. “They told me I got this, I can do it. I know I have been underperforming sometimes. But they gave me their support right there and I’ve got to give it right back and get out of that.”
That’s exactly what he did. He struck out Abreu with three fastballs, a sinker and two four-seam fastballs. The last one was up well out of the zone, but Abreu had committed early and couldn’t hold up his swing.
“Walking him was part of the discussion,” Soto said. “But in the end, walking him was not on my mind. We made the decision that we were going to pitch to him. Fortunately, we did. Fortunately, they put the ball in my hand and trusted me to make a pitch and get that out. We did that.”
Manager AJ Hinch had Michael Fulmer warming in the bullpen, just in case things went more sideways. Soto never knew he was there.
“I never knew who was up,” he said. “I knew I had to do my job. I needed to get that guy out and save the game for us. My focus was on the batter.”
He wasn’t out of the woods yet. He still needed to get Eloy Jimenez, which he did, inducing a grounder to shortstop. It was Soto’s 17th save. As much as he gets into messes, he’s only blown two save chances.
“It’s not the first time he’s pitched his way into and out of trouble,” Hinch said. “I’m not saying the more he does it the more I’m comfortable with it. But he has electric stuff that’s hard to hit even when he’s a little erratic. Sometimes being erratic can help you.
“I didn’t want runners at second and third and Abreu up, but because of that stuff, he can escape some of those jams. We don’t want him to do that, but there are very few guys who can pull it together the way he did.”
AROUND THE HORN
…Outfielder Austin Meadows (Achilles tendon) went 0-for-3 in his second rehab start for Toledo on Thursday and was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth. Playing right field, he threw out two runners at third base. But he reported soreness on Friday and was held out of the lineup. Hinch said they won’t push it with Meadows. There was hope he could rejoin the team in Kansas City Monday. That’s not looking likely now.
…Reliever Kyle Funkhouser, out all season with a shoulder injury, felt no discomfort Friday after throwing his first full bullpen. He’s still a long way from throwing to hitters and activating his game rehab program but Friday was a positive step.
…Starter Matt Manning (shoulder) threw an extended bullpen Thursday, with up and downs to simulate innings and is expected to make a rehab start in five days at Single-A Lakeland.
cmccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky
Tigers at White Sox
First pitch: 2:10 p.m. Saturday, Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago
TV/Radio: BSD/97.1
SCOUTING REPORT:
RHP Garrett Hill (1-0, 1.50), Tigers: It’s going to be tough to top his debut performance. He limited the Guardians to two hits and a run in six innings, the first Tiger ever to do that in his debut. He commanded all five of his pitches, using cutters and fastballs to right-handers and changeups and heaters to lefties.
RHP Johnny Cueto (2-4, 3.30), White Sox: He’s 36 and in his 15th big-league season and he’s still shaking and baking, getting it done. With his five-pitch mix, heavy on sinkers and changeups these days, he has allowed three runs or less in his last five starts. Opponents are hitting .160 against his changeup and overall are chasing outside the zone at a rate of 31%.