Washington, D.C. — Tigers’ utility man Nick Maton had a unique plan of attack Friday night. He’s 4 for 34 in May, hitting .155 on the season and against breaking balls and off-speed pitches, he’s 5 for 56 with 30 strikeouts.
So, against Nationals right-handed starter Jake Irvin, he put the bat on his shoulders for a bit.
Tigers manager AJ Hinch and the hitting coaches have been encouraging him not to swing at every secondary pitch he sees. So he took 13 straight pitches, drawing two walks. Then he took the first two pitches of his third at-bat before lashing a single to center off a splitter.
“That’s about as directly as you can mention it,” Hinch said. “But it’s easier said than done. It’s been a work in progress because you have to be ready to hit in case the mistake happens. But you don’t have to be premeditated in your swing decisions.
“If they’re balls, take them. If they’re hittable and you can drive them, great.”
Maton ended up seeing 25 pitches Friday and taking 19 of them. Of the 14 pitches he saw in his first three at-bats, 13 were secondary pitches. He struck out in his fourth at-bat, taking three of the five pitches and then chasing a sweeper out of the zone.
In his last at-bat against Andres Machado, he saw five upper-90s fastballs, the most he’s seen in a few weeks.
“I thought last night was a good sign because he knew exactly what was going to happen when he went up there,” Hinch said. “He even took some fastballs he knew he couldn’t drive. To me, that’s a more well-rounded approach.
“He will get more fastballs the better counts he gets into by taking the early-count off-speed pitches for balls.”
Maton wasn’t in the starting lineup against lefty Patrick Corbin Saturday. But the Nationals have an all-right-handed bullpen, so Hinch expected to get him in the game once Corbin was out.
Twitter: @cmccosky