FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers lost, 6-2, to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday at Hammond Stadium.
The Tigers fell to 5-5 in Grapefruit League play.
What happened
On a hot, sunny, muggy day — it hit 87 degrees — playing catcher can be brutal.
But Jake Rogers had himself a fantastic day.
Rogers started off by homering to center, a 415-foot blast. It was his third homer of spring training.
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“Obviously, swinging the bat well,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
After hitting the home run, Rogers had his gear on and was waiting for Joey Wentz to pitch — no time to celebrate.
Rogers also added a double.
“Runs are good,” Rogers said. “It was good day, a good day. I’m happy about it.”
Rogers finished it off by throwing out a runner to end the sixth inning, proving that his repaired elbow is just fine.
“It’s really fun to watch (Jake) play well,” Wentz said. “I’ve spent time with Rogers rehabbing. And certainly, I think he’s a great player. I think that, you know, everybody knows he can catch and he does damage with the bat, too. So it’s fun to watch him play.”
At the plate
Riley Greene had some bad memories in Fort Myers.
“I lost the state championship here,” Greene said, sitting on the bench, getting ready to play.
On June 6, 2017, Greene was a freshman when Lincoln beat Hagerty — Greene’s school — in the 8A championship at Hammond Stadium.
In that game, Greene reached base solely on an error.
But he fared better at the plate on Sunday. He doubled in the third inning to drive in a run and giv the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
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The Tigers managed just five hits and Spencer Torkelson had one of them.
“Tork has had some really good swings in the last three games or so but hasn’t gotten a ton to show for it,” Hinch said. “Somehow a simple single can kind of make you relax and breathe a little easier.”
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On the mound
The left-handed Wentz started the game with a 1-2-3 first inning.
But he got into trouble in the second inning, giving up a homer to Joey Gallo and a double to Max Kepler.
“I thought I threw the ball pretty well,” Wentz said. “The homer — he crushed it.”
Wentz threw 43 pitches, including 22 four-seam fastballs and 10 cutters.
“There was some stuff I feel like I could clean up but results-wise and how I feel, I feel pretty good about it,” he said. “I feel like I’m performing pretty well,” he said. “We’re still kind of in the beginning of spring.”
Wentz was helped out by Torkelson, who made the defensive play of the game. Kyle Farmer hit a popup to shallow right, and Torkelson hustled into the outfield, catching the ball with his back to the infield. It was all effort and athleticism.
“Great play obviously,” Wentz said. “I thought I made a pretty good pitch. Soft contact. I think Tork is really good on D. I trust Tork to catch the ball and certainly, he made a great play.”
Alex Faedo made his second appearance of the spring. He pitched the seventh inning and gave up three runs on four hits, including a home run, while recording two outs.
Jose Cisnero threw one inning, giving up two hits and one run, but struck out three.
Rony Garcia also gave up a run in one inning of work, walking one and giving up a hit.
Three stars
1. Rogers; 2. Torkelson; 3. Wentz
Next up
Monday (1:05 p.m.) vs. Boston in Fort Myers.
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Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read Seidel’s recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.