The Tigers bullpen and pitching staff generally continued to be the star of the show in Thursday’s doubleheader. Unfortunately, after blanking the Mets most of the afternoon and taking Game 1 in another extra innings battle, they let Game 2 slip away as Tyrone Taylor walked it off for the Mets against Alex Faedo to salvage a game from the series.
Game 1: Tigers 6, Mets 3 (11 innings)
In Game 1, the Tigers continued their extra innings dominance courtesy of Shelby Miller and a few big hits that came right on time. Casey Mize didn’t get the win in his first start since 2022, but he put together a decent looking outing despite some early command issues and poor results. He also showed some of the best splitters we’ve seen from him at the major league level, which was encouraging.
Mize’s command was shaky, but he averaged 94 mph with quite good riding action as we saw in the spring. The slider was solid, and the splitter was erratic, but when he threw a good one, it had the depth and fading action we haven’t seen in a long while. In the third, the control got away from him with two outs as hit hit Francisco Lindor. That led to immediate trouble through the heart of the Mets order as Pete Alonso singled Lindor to third, and a hanging splitter to Francisco Alvarez was ripped into the left field corner to plate both runs. 2-0 Mets.
Adrian Houser spun an even better game for the Mets, but it didn’t help them in the end. The Tigers didn’t get a baserunner until the third inning, when Gio Urshela and Zack McKinstry singled back to back. However, Parker Meadows popped out and Spencer Torkelson flew out to end the threat.
The Tigers managed a threat of their own again in the fourth but came up short on some poor batted ball luck. Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene walked to lead off the inning, but Matt Vierling grounded out. That left it to Colt Keith, who spanked a line drive right to Lindor for an inning ending double play as Greene was caught off second base.
Mize got the first out in the fifth, but after Alonso singled, A.J. Hinch turned to Joey Wentz to keep Francisco Alvarez in check. A wild pitch sent Alonso to second, but Wentz did get Alvarez to pop out. However, Brett Baty flicked a little liner into left and Alonso scored to make it 3-0 Mets before Wentz punched out Starling Marte to end the inning. That hit from Baty would be the last the Mets saw for a long, long while this afternoon.
Mize finished with 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K. He wasn’t sharp, but the stuff looks very good, and command can take time to return after Tommy John surgery. All in all, it had to feel good for Casey to get that one under his belt after getting rained out twice.
And finally, in the top of the sixth the Tigers got on the board. Parker Meadows drew a leadoff walk and Spencer Torkelson dumped a single into left field. Meadows looked like he would pull up at second and caught Brandon Nimmo off guard by breaking for third. He made it with no issues, and Andy Ibáñez did the yeoman’s work, lifting a fly ball to right to plate Meadows. 3-1 Mets. Unfortunately the Tigers would get no more out of the inning.
Wentz immediately walked the leadoff hitter, Jeff McNeil, to open the bottom half, but was able to work through the inning without allowing a run, with some nice defense by Urshela and Colt Keith helping him out.
Former Tigers farmhand Drew Smith took over in the seventh. He got Keith and Carson Kelly to fly out, but Urshela singled and Zack McKinstry drew a walk. The Mets turned to lefty Jake Diekman against Parker Meadows, and Hinch countered with Mark Canha. Diekman did the work for them, with a passed ball and then a wild pitch scoring Urshela from third. Canha drew the walk, but Torkelson struck out to end the half inning.
The Tigers bullpen has been huge so far in the early going, and that didn’t change in this one. Alex Lange allowed a walk but no more in the bottom of the seventh, striking out two.
Riley Greene then tied the game with his second home run of the year, this one a 105.9 mph shot to right field off of Adam Ottavino to make it a 3-3 ballgame.
Andrew Chafin spun a clean eighth inning, and the Mets turned to ace closer Edwin Diaz, who shut the Tigers down the top of the ninth. However, we’ll see you one Edwin Diaz and raise you a Jason Foley. The big right-hander walked Nimmo to start the inning and then allowed him to steal second base. Foley struck out Lindor but walked Alonso, which isn’t a terrible idea with first base open. Dialing up sinkers to 100 mph again, Foley got Alvarez to bounce one back to him, fired to Keith and second, and they were able to turn it over for the inning ending double play to send the Tigers to extra innings yet again.
Jorge Lopez set the Tigers down in order with McKinstry the starting runner on second. Torkelson ripped a liner right to Baty at third with two outs, and Ibáñez flew out to send it to the bottom of the tenth.
As a distinct fly ball pitcher with pretty funky stuff, veteran Shelby Miller has already carved out a little niche as the extra innings specialist for A.J. Hinch. You don’t want a ground ball artist on the mound allowing the opposition to advance the runner, so collecting those routine fly balls and some pop-ups is key. Miller did the job yet again, walking Jeff McNeil with two outs, but otherwise collecting two punchouts and a pop-up to sent it to the 11th inning.
This time, the Tigers had the answer. With Ibáñez starting on second and Michael Tonkin pitching, Greene ripped a single to right that moved Ibáñez to third. Matt Vierling pulled a ground ball to third, but Baty was able to cut down Ibáñez at the plate, and we gnashed in frustration. Only for a moment, however, as Colt Keith then hammered a double to the wall in left center field to score Greene with the go-ahead run.
Carson Kelly struck out, but Urshela came through again with a single into center field that, with two outs, scored both Vierling and Keith. 6-3 Tigers. And there was joy in TigerTown once more.
Then, after McKinstry singled Urshela to second and Mark Canha was hit by a pitch to load the bases, we also got the usual Angel Hernandez moment, as Torkelson was hit by a pitch that also nicked his bat, and Hernandez decided he’d swung the bat. Here is the above view of that one. Fortunately it didn’t matter.
Shelby Miller had the answers yet again. He struck out Harrison Bader on a heater right down the middle, and then got Nimmo to ground out. Miller walked Lindor, but he bore down and punched out Alonso on a foul tipped high fastball to put a bow on this one and run the Tigers start to 5-0.
Miller has been huge so far.
Game 2: Mets 2, Tigers 1
The Tigers didn’t swing the bats all that well in this game either, but they had nothing on the Mets. Matt Manning allowed four walks, but did not allow a single hit. The right-hander, called up for the doubleheader start from Triple-A, punched out three while throwing a ton of his new sweeping slider. He did issue four walks, and got some timely help from his defense, but there wasn’t much hard hit against Manning all afternoon.
The Tigers had a scoring chance right out of the gate as Torkelson singled with one out in the top of the first. Kerry Carpenter flew out, but Riley Greene drew a two out walk. Unfortunately, Mark Canha grounded out to end the inning.
Manning walked Nimmo to open the bottom half, and you hate to see that to the leadoff hitter. However, Manning then popped up Lindor, struck out Alonso after an eight pitch battle with a perfect fastball in on his hands that the slugger swung through in a 3-2 count. Baty popped out, and Manning and the Tigers were out of the inning.
Colt Keith led off the second against Jose Butto by drawing a walk. Ibáñez struck out, but Keith stole second base and advanced to third on a wild throw from catcher Omar Narvaez. Javier Báez got a curveball down and away from Butto and poked it into center field for an RBI single, and the Tigers led 1-0.
Báez proceeded to steal second base, and Parker Meadows walked, but Torkelson grounded out to third to end the half inning.
The game moved swiftly from that point, as no one was hitting. The Mets hadn’t had a hit since the fifth inning of Game 1, and they didn’t get one at all against Matt Manning. A leadoff walk to Nimmo in the sixth was disconcerting in a one-run game, but Manning got Lindor to fly out to right, and Alonso popped out to Keith at second base. A.J. Hinch turned to Tyler Holton at that point, what a luxury by the way, and Holton promptly punched out Baty to keep the combined no-no attempt going.
Matt Manning finished at 90 pitches, with 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 4 BB, 3 K on the day.
Butto acquitted himself quite well too. The Tigers had a few hard hit at’em balls, but little of consequence. Reed Garrett took over in the top of the seventh, and a one-out single to McKinstry was all he’d allow before getting Báez to ground into an inning ending double play.
Holton carved up the Mets again in the bottom of the seventh, making it 13 full innings without a hit for the wayward Mets. Finally, Harrison Bader stroked a single to left to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning and break out the combined no-hitter attempt. Zack Short pinch-hit for Joey Wendle and dropped down a sac bunt to move Bader to second base. Holton got Nimmo to fly out, and then Hinch brought on Alex Faedo to face Lindor in a tough spot. Faedo spotted a slider on the inner edge for strike one, then bent one down at Lindor’s feet for a whiff. A beaut of a fading changeup that almost hit the plate got the swinging strike three, and dispatched Lindor back to the dugout.
With Garrett still on the mound for the Mets, the Tigers got to work again. Riley Greene drew a one-out walk, and after Canha popped out, Colt Keith stroked a single the opposite way for his second knock of the game. Zack McKinstry worked into a deep count and a Garrett wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third. However, a good splitter on the eighth pitch of the AB got McKinstry swinging over it to send this to the bottom of the ninth with the Tigers still holding a slender 1-0 lead.
To earn the save and close this one out, A.J. Hinch’s options were down to sticking with Faedo or turning to Will Vest, his last unused reliever on the day. He stuck with Faedo, and it did not work out. Faedo got a called strike one, and then tumbled a pretty good looking changeup well below the zone. However, Pete Alonso is really good and he read the pitch well, sinking down to get it and smoking a solo shot over the left center field wall to tie the game.
Faedo got too nibbly from there, walking Baty. Starling Marte dropped a sac bunt to move Baty to second, and that brought Tyrone Taylor to the dish. Taylor worked a full count, and while Faedo had first base open, he wanted to make a good pitch and spotted a slider down and away. Unfortunately, Taylor ripped it down the left field line for a walkoff single, and the Tigers finally knew the bitter taste of defeat in the 2024 season.
Really stings to lose this one this way. They had plenty of chances to break it open along the way, and you can only no-hit a major league team for so long before they break through.
The Tigers will come home for Opening Day with a sterling 5-1 record and Tarik Skubal taking the bump against the soon to be Sacramento A’s. Hopefully some of the other bats will heat up. The pitching has been stellar overall.