Houston – The grunts were strong and they were loud. The fastball was firm and lively (hitting 95 mph) and the secondary stuff (the rest of his seven-pitch mix) was sharp enough to break two bats in the course of a 45-pitch session.
Right-hander Michael Lorenzen was back on the mound Monday, albeit at 3 p.m. Central, in an empty Minute Maid Park, pitching live to teammates Jonathan Schoop, Kerry Carpenter and Ryan Kreidler.
“He was pain-free and he threw the ball well,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “There was no adrenaline whatsoever on a live BP day and he still had pretty decent stuff. He threw 45 pitches and came out of it with no issue.”
It was hump day in a sense for Lorenzen, who started the season on the injured list with a left groin strain. Getting through the live session puts him on track to be activated when the 15-day stint is up, which would be next Monday.
“I know that after today it’s going to fly by,” said Lorenzen, whom the Tigers signed for one year at $8.5 million. “Because I’m throwing to hitters now. So it’s, OK, recover from this, throw in a game, recover again and then let’s see what happens after that.
“It had gotten to a point where this was starting to drag along.”
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The tentative plan is for Lorenzen to make a rehab start with Triple-A Toledo on Saturday.
“What I’ve learned about these injuries is just to get to the next game and update as we go,” Hinch said. “I would hope (the rehab assignment) would be shorter than longer, but I’m done predicting what that can look like.”
Lorenzen broke two bats. One was Kreidler’s, which he pulverized with a slider.
“The velo was good and the shapes were good on all my pitches,” he said. “I felt really good.”
The groin seemed to hold up well even after the outing when he did pitcher fielding drills, including breaking off the mound and covering first base.
“I didn’t even think about it,” he said. “It didn’t even cross my mind. It’s just a matter of building up the workload in terms of pitches and innings.”
Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter will have a tough decision to make when Lorenzen returns. Presumably either Joey Wentz or Matt Manning would be optioned to Toledo when that time comes.
Brother on brother?
It’s possible that Astros reliever Phil Maton will get a shot at redemption against his brother Nick in this series. But it wasn’t likely to be Monday night. Phil Maton pitched two innings on Sunday.
“We haven’t talked about it much,” said Nick, who slapped a single against his brother on the last day of the regular season last year at Minute Maid Park. “Whatever happens, happens. If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, it’s nothing I need to have happen.”
Phil Maton might need it to happen, to regain bragging rights in the family. He got two strikes on his brother last Oct. 5 and then did what he knew he shouldn’t have – he threw him a 2-2 fastball. Base hit to center.
“He did,” said Nick, who is a pure fastball hitter, as his brother knows. “Their whole team was barking at me. They were begging him to throw me a fastball and he finally did. But he was flipping me stuff early. We were battling, man. Grinding.”
Phil Maton, who had been struggling down the stretch last season, broke his hand punching his locker in frustration after that game and had to sit out the Astros’ World Series run.
“So we didn’t talk about it much, kind of a sore subject,” Nick laughed. “But he won in the end. He got a ring.”
Nick Maton, who started at third base Monday, may not be in the lineup to start on Tuesday with the Astros starting lefty Framber Valdez. But maybe the brothers will lock up later in the game.
“It’s a cool situation, but it’s something that’s already happened,” Nick said. “I don’t need it to happen again, but if it does, I’ll be ready.”
Around the horn
… Infielder Tyler Nevin, on the IL with an obique strain, is sizzling in his rehab assignment with the Mud Hens. He’s 6-for-9 in three games with a double, triple, home run and two RBI.
… The Tigers through the first three games had a run differential of minus-18. That’s the second worst differential in club history, second only to the 1977 team which started with a minus-22.
… Tigers bullpen catcher Chris Chinea and Astros’ All-Star Alex Bregman were teammates at LSU in 2014 and 2015.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky
Tigers at Astros
When: 8:10 p.m., Tuesday, Minute Maid Park, Houston
TV/radio: BSD/97.1
Scouting report
RHP Matt Manning, Tigers: This is his third big-league season but he’s still just 25 years old. And, given his history of arm injuries (he was limited to 12 starts last season), he’s still very much a work in progress. He has flashed a very effective fastball that, because of his long extension and spin rate, plays above the 93-95 mph he typically sits. His slider, also at times, has been impressive. Consistency is the next step in his progression.
LHP Framber Valdez (0-0, 0.00), Astros: He shutout the White Sox over five innings in his first start, picking up where left off last season when he made his first All-Star game and won two games in the World Series. He pitches off a mid-90s sinker, dominating right-handed hitters with a curveball (.149 average, 46% whiff rate last season) and left-handed hitters with a cutter (.117. 37%).