Detroit — Riley Greene went into the game Sunday on a bit of a scuffle. He was 5 for 33 with 13 strikeouts in his previous eight games.
Nothing unusual. He went through a rough patch last season (5 for 50). Nothing overly alarming. He’s still produced some big hits, like his RBI triple Friday night. The fix is the same for him this year as it was last year — swing at the right pitches and don’t get too big — don’t try to do too much.
“He and I have this thing where all I really want to talk about is whether he got a good pitch to hit or not,” manager AJ Hinch said. “When he does, he does a lot of damage. When he doesn’t, he can have some messy at-bats. I know he wants to be more productive and pitch selection is the key to that.”
Pitchers have been attacking him at the top of the strike zone, especially up and in and middle in. He’s whiff rates across the top of the zone, according to Statcast heat maps, are 33% up and away, 36% middle up and 38% middle in.
Overall, he’s got a 12% swinging strike rate (up from 9.8% last season), a 34% chase rate and a 54% ground ball rate.
“The league has a funny way of adjusting to you pretty quickly,” Hinch said. “They start pounding you in areas that are uncomfortable for you. The more he recognizes that and experiences that, the faster he will be able to make the adjustment.
“It’s just a youthful approach to learning that this isn’t an easy level. They’re not going to just lay the ball where he likes it. They are pitching him pretty tough.”
A reminder that Greene is 22 years old and came into the game Sunday with less than 500 plate appearances in the big leagues (479).
“The numbers will even out over time,” Hinch said. “The punch-outs are what they are. It’s about pitch selection.”
Hinch was asked, given how Greene is grinding right now, why he kept him at the top of the batting order. Greene was in the two-hole for Sunday’s game, the start of which was delayed because of rain.
“Because I don’t think they suck when they do poorly and I don’t think they’re Hall-of-Famers when they do great,” he said. “I am pretty consistent with these guys. Riley is a really good player and he’s a really good player when he’s 0-for-20 and he’s a really good player when he’s 10-for-20.
“I try to be consistent with them so they understand that the things I do with the lineup or their playing time don’t revolve solely on how they did in today’s game.”
The game is a six-month rollercoaster ride for players intrinsically. There’s no need, Hinch said, for a manager to pile on.
“When you have the people around you creating more stress by being inconsistent with you, that’s not going to produce better results,” Hinch said. “We believe in Riley, no matter what kind of stretch he’s going through.”
Around the horn
The news is not good for right-hander Trevor Rosenthal. The Toledo Mud Hens have put him on the injured list with an undisclosed injury. The 32-year-old former All-Star who has missed the last two seasons with multiple surgeries only pitched two innings at Toledo.
… Spencer Torkelson got his first off day of the season Sunday. Tyler Nevin was to get the start at first base. “There’s no injury or issue,” Hinch said. “I want to make sure we get Nevin in there pretty regularly. This was a good day for Tork to have at least the beginning of the game off.”
… The Tigers bullpen worked seven scoreless innings Saturday and allowed only one hit. Tyler Holton worked three innings and Jason Foley, Trey Wingenter, Alex Lange and Chasen Shreve each pitched one. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that was the first time a Tigers’ ‘pen did that since May 2, 2013 at Houston — also pitching seven scoreless, one-hit innings. The pitchers that day were Jose Ortega, Joaquin Benoit, Darin Downs and Luke Putkonen.
On deck: Guardians
▶ Series: Three games at Comerica Park, Detroit
▶ First pitch: Monday-Tuesday — 6:40 p.m.; Wednesday — 1:10 p.m
▶ TV/radio: All three games on Bally Sports Detroit, 97.1 FM
▶ Probables: Monday — RHP Hunter Gaddis (0-1, 8.53) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (0-2, 4.50); Tuesday — RHP Peyton Battenfield (0-0, 1.93) vs. RHP Spencer Turnbull (1-2, 9.00); Wednesday — RHP Cal Quantrill (0-1, 5.74) vs. LHP Joey Wentz (0-2, 6.34).
Scouting report
▶ Gaddis, Guardians: Big, burly Georgian (6-6, 260) hasn’t missed a lot of bats in his first three starts this season. He’s allowed 12 runs in 14 innings, with opponents attacking his 93-mph four-seam fastball especially (.412 average, .588 slug). His preferred secondary pitches are a cutter and changeup.
▶ Rodriguez, Tigers: He’s coming off his best start of the season, going toe-to-toe with the Blue Jays’ Kevin Gausman, allowing only a run in six innings. His changeup has been shaky early in the season (hitters 5 for 13 against it) but he had a good one against the Jays. Six were put in play with a meek average exit velocity of 75 mph. He also got 10 called strikes with a lively 93-mph four-seamer.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky