Detroit News

Detroit — You understand the rationale behind the shortened starts. With limited work in the pandemic-truncated 2020 season, workloads have to be managed carefully this season and both Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal have quadrupled their innings over last year. But, man, it would’ve been fun to see Skubal keep pitching on Sunday. “Yeah, he was great,”

Detroit — Already, Tigers skipper AJ Hinch is getting tired of the “Little Engine That Could” narrative. How about the “Little Engine That Did?” The Tigers were down to their final strike Sunday when Jeimer Candelario blasted his second home run of the game, a two-run shot off reliever Andrew Kittredge to tie the game at

It did what it was intended to do, those six weeks during which Jackson Jobe and Ty Madden threw at the TigerTown complex at Lakeland, Florida. It got them ready for 2022 — when, assuming health holds, they’ll finally pitch in games somewhere in the Tigers farm chain. Each pitcher, drafted 1-2 by the Tigers in

By the final month of most professional baseball seasons — big-league, or minors — a ballplayer typically ticks downward. Numbers fall. Energy ebbs. Fatigue sets in. Ryan Kreidler has pulled an end-around. Ignore a .253 batting average in July, and Kreidler each month since June has raised his hitting numbers, which is how you win promotions from

Detroit — It was the response you’d expect from the defending American League champs and a team threatening to run away with the East Division title. After enduring a 10-4 loss to the Tigers on Friday night, the Tampa Bay Rays came hungry Saturday and put a 7-2 beating on the Tigers at Comerica Park. “The

Detroit — Victor Reyes is a fighter. Every time the roster numbers look like they are lined up against him, every time it looks like he’s going to get another ticket to Triple-A Toledo, he goes on a tear at the plate. “Just as the roster was starting to squeeze and we thought he was

Detroit — The Tigers aren’t completely closing the door on Matthew Boyd pitching again this season, but the odds are stacked hard against that happening. “He’s going to see doctors next week,” manager AJ Hinch said Saturday. “He is scheduled to see Dr. (Keith) Meister in Dallas and then we’ll get further evaluations and opinions and

Detroit — The ball really did hit him. Jonathan Schoop will show you the scratch on his leg if you need proof. “Yeah, he told me, ‘It actually did hit me,'” Akil Baddoo said. “I said, ‘Well be glad they didn’t call it. You got a grand slam.” In a night of unique feats and wild

Detroit — The last team standing in a crazy back-and-forth ballgame at Comerica Park Friday night was — not the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays. Jonathan Schoop hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of the seventh inning off reliever Andrew Kittredge that sent the Tigers on their way to a rousing 10-4 win. Schoop’s fifth

Baseball Hall-of-Famer and Bally Sports Detroit color analyst Jack Morris was back in the booth Friday, marking the end of a 10-game suspension for seemingly imitating an Asian accent during an at-bat by Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani in August. Before the baseball began, though, the former Tiger still had a little cleaning up to do. Morris,

Detroit — Thursday was a well-earned off day for the Tigers, but lefty Matthew Boyd likes to throw the day before he starts. So, he dragged catcher Dustin Garneau to Comerica Park so he could stay on his routine. It ended up being anything but routine. Boyd was scratched from his start on Friday after feeling

Detroit — Tigers television analyst Jack Morris is set to return to the broadcast booth Friday night, ending the suspension levied after he seemed to imitate an Asian accent during an at-bat by Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani during a game last month. Greg Hammaren, senior vice president and general manager for Bally Sports Detroit,

Detroit — If it were my call, Matthew Boyd would be a part of the Tigers’ rotation in 2022. For two reasons: The shrewd and stingy five-pitch lefty that we’ve seen be dominating for stretches over the last four seasons is still in there. The projective metrics tell us this. Secondly, the clubhouse in general and

Pittsburgh — Earlier in the day Wednesday, Tigers players were in the clubhouse watching Derek Jeter’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech. Robbie Grossman looked over at Miguel Cabrera. “You got your Hall of Fame speech ready?” Grossman said, retelling the story. “I don’t take any day for granted getting to play with him.” Cabrera and Grossman took it

Despite avoiding the innings restrictions that have bound Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal, Tigers rookie starter Matt Manning was pulled early from Wednesday night’s start in Pittsburgh. Manning took a line drive from Pirates third baseman Colin Moran in the third inning and exited the game. The Tigers announced he suffered a contusion on his left knee.

A two-year wait seemed worth it Wednesday at Cooperstown, New York, where the sun shined, a breeze blew, a late-summer crowd cheered, and four men were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, all with eloquent words that perhaps reached their zenith during a stirring address from Southfield native and early Tigers follower, Ted Simmons.

Pittsburgh — The cruelty of baseball. Just as Jake Rogers was establishing himself in the big leagues, he’s going to miss most, if not the entire 2022 season. Tigers manager AJ Hinch announced that Rogers had Tommy John surgery (ulnar collateral ligament replacement) in Dallas on Wednesday. “Jake went from being a player who was penciled into

Pittsburgh — Occasionally they rise up and smack a team around, like they did in Cincinnati with five home runs and 18 hits, or like they did to the Angels last month when they scored 10 runs in the first five innings. But on whole, offensive inconsistency and inadequacy is keeping the Tigers from climbing at least back

Pittsburgh — Strange night. PNC Park was nearly empty Tuesday night, as if COVID-19 capacity restrictions were still in place. The crowd was announced at 8,329, but that seemed exaggerated. And so quiet. At one point, music from a nearby outdoor concert was louder than the stadium noise. There wasn’t much energy being generated on

Pittsburgh — Some players can watch themselves on video and see precisely where their mechanics have gone off track. With other players, watching video is a waste of time. They have to feel it. Tigers reliever Bryan Garcia is in the latter category. “Everybody has a different pitching language in their brain,” he said. “With me,