Detroit – He had a scratch on his left temple, near his eye, but that was the only visible damage. It certainly could’ve been worse.
It was the fifth inning Friday night. Tigers’ rookie Kevin McGonigle hit a ground ball to Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor, who was playing back nearly to the outfield grass.
Mariners’ pitcher Bryan Woo hustled over and it looked like it was going to be a routine 3-1 putout at first base.
Until Josh Naylor decided he’d make the play himself, took an angle to the bag that put him directly in line with McGonigle and the two collided at the bag.
“Naylor was the bigger vehicle coming into first base and he knew he was going to win that battle,” said Tigers’ manager AJ Hinch. “After the nasty collision in the Dodgers-D-backs game the other night, we don’t want to see any of that.”
Thursday night, Dodgers’ Max Muncy and Diamondbacks first baseman Ildemaro Vargas collided violently, head-to-head, at first base and both had to leave the game. McGonigle was agile enough to spin off and avoid direct contact.
The cut on his face was from his helmet.
Still, he was perplexed by Naylor’s decision.
“The whole way, I thought he was going to flip it to Woo,” McGonigle said. “Woo was there early, so I expected that. I’m not sure why he took himself there. But I tried to beat it out when I saw him. I kind of hustled toward the bag and we ended up colliding. All good.”
Is it?
“I was just more confused why he took it to the bag himself,” McGonigle said. “But, yeah, all good.”
Naylor is 5-11, 235 pounds. McGonigle is 5-9, 187. And both players were running hard right to the point of impact.
“Kevin was going to the bag, trying to beat him there,” Hinch said. “Naylor took an angle betting on winning the collision. But he was trying to get the out. That is the competition. Luckily both players avoided anything major.”
Mariners at Tigers
First pitch: 1:40 p.m. Comerica Park
TV/Radio: Detroit Sports Net, 97.1, 107.9
RHP Luis Castillo (2-5, 5.31), Mariners: It’s been a different type of season for the 10-year veteran. He’s worked a couple of times out of the bullpen, the first time he’s done that in his career. Last time out, though, he pitched five strong innings in relief, allowing one run in an extra-inning win against Arizona. His four-seamer is still ringing in at 95 mph and he’s getting 31.7% whiff rate with his slider, but he’s been hit hard. The 91.5-mph average exit velocity and 48.5% hard-hit rates are career highs.
RHP Jack Flaherty (1-7, 5.31), Tigers: His last two starts have been strong and the common denominator in both was a crisp and precise four-seam fastball. Against the Rays last time out, his ability to move his 93-mph heater around induced four whiffs but more significantly, 14 called strikes. Dotting the fastball and throwing sliders and knuckle-curves off it kept the Rays hitters guessing, and mostly guessing wrong.
— Chris McCosky
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Collision leaves Tigers’ rookie McGonigle with a scratch and a question
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Chris McCosky, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
