There wasn’t much offense to speak of on Saturday. Casey Mize and Keider Montero looked good, as did most of the Tigers pitchers. A Gleyber Torres RBI single was the different in this one as the Phillies managed just one hit on the day.
The Tigers didn’t do all that much to improve their position player group this offseason, but they sure did reinforce the pitching staff. The bullpen and the rotation both look pretty stacked at this point, and they’ve got a lot of quality depth as well. The injury gods can wreak havoc on the best laid plans, particularly where pitchers early in the season are concerned. For now though, Saturday’s matchup with the Phillies just put more evidence on display as both Casey Mize and Keider Montero pitched very well.
The Phillies didn’t send their best, so don’t get too excited. There was no Harper, Schwarber, Turner, nor even a Bohm or a Castellanos, in Philly’s lineup. Still the stuff and command were sharp for both Tigers’ starters as they compete for one of the final two rotation slots along with Jackson Jobe and perhaps a few others.
Mize got the start and went three brisk inning in this one. He was sitting 95-96 mph out of the chute, and racked up three quick ground outs in the first, then punched out Cal Stevenson on a high fastball to open the second inning. Another high fastball popped up Buddy Kennedy, and Mize broke out the slower, deeper slider he’s working on and locked up Garrett Stubbs for strike three to end the second. Mize walked Christian Arroyo in the third, still not fooling anyone much with the splitter, but got a pair of high fly balls out to center field which Wenceel Pérez handled comfortably. Pérez’s ability to handle center field is under renewed scrutiny with Parker Meadows probably out of action to start the season.
Mize wrapped up his day with 3.0 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K.
The Tigers weren’t exactly swinging a hot bat either. The Phillies’ Tyler Phillips walked both Zach McKinstry and Ryan Kreidler in the bottom of the third. The offensive reinforcement the Tigers did acquire this offseason, Gleyber Torres, did his thing and drilled an opposite field single to plate McKinstry. 1-0 Tigers. It would stay that way. Riley Greene struck out and Pérez flew out to end the inning.
Colt Keith had the Tigers only hit against Aaron Nola, who started for Philadelphia. The Tigers now first baseman smoked a 110.7 mph single into center field to lead off the second inning, but was doubled off on a Javy Báez ground ball.
Montero took the mound looking to make his case, and promptly struck out the side while sitting 96-97 mph. He painted a 1-2 fastball at the bottom of the zone to freeze Kody Clemens. Edmundo Sosa was blown away by a high fastball, and Montero started off Cal Stevenson with a knuckle curve-slider combination, and then froze him with a 97.2 mph heater down in the zone. In the top of the fifth, Montero got a weak flyout, a pop-up, and then closed out his outing by tying up Christian Arroyo with a sinker that sailed in on the right-hander’s hands for a swinging strike three.
If Montero’s command improves in his sophomore season, look out league.
There isn’t too much else to report, because the Tigers regulars came out of the game, and the hits were few. They were even fewer for the Phillies. Tyler Holton pitched a scoreless sixth, giving up the lone Phillies hit, a single to Johan Rojas. Holton also punched out Aidan Miller and Sosa for a pretty impressive outing, but then Holton is nearly always impressive. Nice to see the baseball world starting to take notice.
The Tigers mustered a threat in the sixth when Wenceel Pérez walked with two outs and Keith lined a single the opposite way, but Spencer Torkelson flew out down the line in right field.
John Brebbia was next up in the seventh. The right-hander struck out Oscar Mercado and Gabriel Rincones Jr. in a quick inning of work. His fastball was around 93 mph and should tick up a bit with a few more outings. Power isn’t really his game in the first place.
Lefty Matt Gage was still rather wild in the eighth, but again his stuff is quite good if the Tigers can unlock his command. Several other teams have tried and failed.
Andrew Navigato doubled in the eighth, but then tried to catch the pitcher napping by breaking for third and was thrown in TOOTBLAN style.
Finally, Brendan White close things out with a pair of grounders and a fly out as Thayron Liranzo entered the game to catch an inning.
That was all she wrote. The Tigers only had five hits in the game, so there isn’t much to brag on. Torres’ RBI single was his first of the spring, while Keith had a pair of hits. Riley Greene and Hao-Yu Lee had rough days, combining for five strikeouts in five plate appearances. Wenceel Pérez and Hao-Yu Lee played third base, with Riley Unroe, a minor league veteran, and Andy Ibáñez taking over late in the game.
Jackson Jobe will start for the Tigers on Sunday as they travel to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. A Jackson Jobe-Jared Jones matchup sounds awesome, and this game will blessedly be televised at 1:05 p.m. ET.