ANAHEIM, CA – Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize got hurt, the Tigers offense did little until late and the Los Angeles Angels earned a 3-2 win on Sunday, July 19.
Mize started but he had to leave after suffering an apparent hand injury. Angels right fielder Jo Adell hit a sharp grounder up the middle – it left his bat with a 108.8 mph exit velocity – and Mize caught it, trapping the ball against his body. He finished the play but appeared to injure his glove hand. He was immediately taken out of the game.
After Mize left, the Tigers (46-53) bullpen gave up a pair of runs.
Meanwhile, the Tigers’ offense mustered little more than a Kevin McGonigle leadoff homer, at least until Riley Greene hit a ninth-inning homer.
At the plate: Kevin McGonigle homers
McGonigle gave the Tigers instant offense at the start of the game. He took the first two pitches he saw from Ryan Johnson: a sinker and then a cutter. Then, on the third pitch, Johnson threw another sinker and McGonigle pounced on it, hitting an opposite-field homer – a 402-foot blast that gave the Tigers a quick 1-0 lead.
But then the Tigers bats went quiet. They had just two hits through the first six innings.
The Tigers had a fantastic opportunity in the fifth inning, putting two guys on with two outs. McGonigle faced Ryan Johnson, and he drew a walk.
That brought up Dillon Dingler – but he struck out.
On the mound: Casey Mize exits
Mize got the start for the Tigers.
He entered Sunday with a 2.79 ERA, which ranked seventh in the American League and 18th in all of baseball among pitchers with at least 10 starts.
“I think he’s always had it in him to be this good,” catcher Jake Rogers said before the game. “Everything’s clicking right now, and I think him adding you know his that bigger spin, his sweeper curveball thing has really helped him I think that him just locating a splitter really well below the zone and you know having the four seam down and off of it has really helped him too. So, I think just him cleaning up his locations and adding that big spin really helped him. Very cool thing. It was just this year that he did that.”
Mize didn’t have his best stuff, but he danced through trouble.
In the second inning, Vaughn hit a double off Mize and then moved to third on a sac bunt.
Oswald Peraza hit a ground ball to third baseman Colt Keith, who made a diving stop. But Keith threw wide of Spencer Torkelson at first and Vaughn Grissom scored.
In the third inning, Mize faced more traffic. The Angeles had two guys on and no outs. But again, he got out of it with a pop up and two strikeouts.
Then, it went from bad to worse, when Mize was injured. Mize was pulled after throwing 3⅓ innings, giving up one earned run on five hits. He struck out five while walking one.
Right-hander Drew Anderson came into the game with the Tigers locked in a 1-1 tie.
Anderson got into trouble in the fifth with back-to-back walks and the Angels loaded the bases with no outs. He gave up a run off three walks and a hit in 1⅓ innings.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch brought in Brenan Hanifee to face Adell with the bases loaded with two outs in the fifth inning. Adell hit a slow roller to Keith at third but Keith threw him out. Hanifee threw one inning, giving up a run off two hits.
The Angels had another scoring chance in the sixth inning, putting a guy on third with one out. Zach Neto singled to right, giving the Angels a 3-1 lead.
Next up: Heading to the Windy City
The Tigers continue this two-city road trip by playing three games against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, with the series opening Monday (8:05 p.m., Detroit SportsNet). The Cubs have been streaky this season, with a 10-game win streak and a 10-game skid, but sit second in the National League Central and own the top wild-card spot in the NL.
Right-hander Jack Flaherty will pitch Monday, followed by lefty Framber Valdez on Tuesday and Keider Montero on Wednesday night in a nationally televised matchup.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers hopes for sweep of Angels bedeviled by lack of offense
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
