Bullpen comes through when started injured
Mike Fiers got the Detroit Tigers off to a nice start. Too bad for him it didn’t last long. Fiers exited soon after being hit in the left shin in the second inning, and the Detroit Tigers relied on their bullpen to beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 Wednesday for a two-game series sweep. “That was supposed to be easy,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Fiers was struck by a liner from Mason Williams, who wound up with a single when the ball caromed toward the first-base line. Fiers finished the inning but didn’t come out for the third.
“It wasn’t too bad — it is just a bruise—but I couldn’ t really land on it,” Fiers said. “The guys here didn’t want to risk me changing my delivery and hurting my arm.” X-rays on Fiers’ shin were negative. It was unclear whether he will make his next scheduled start. “We’re going to see how he is,” Gardenhire said. “It swelled up pretty big.”
Drew Ver-Hagen (2-2) followed as the first of six relievers and pitched three scoreless innings. “He had his good sinker going tonight, and that’s tough for a hitter to get the barrel on,” Tigers catcher John Hicks said. “Even if they do make contact, they are going to drive it into the ground.” Shane Greene pitched the ninth for his 23rd save in 26 chances. Sal Romano (6-9) allowed four runs and eight hits in 51/3 innings. Jose Iglesias hit a two-run double in the second, and Jim Adduci had a solo homer in the fourth. Detroit made it 6-0 in the sixth when Ronny Rodriguez hit an RBI double and scored on Iglesias’s single over a drawn-in infield. A throwing error by left fielder Phillip Ervin allowed another run to score. Cincinnati also threw away two relay throws to the plate, both allowing runners to advance. “That was just bad baseball,” Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. “It is great effort, but bad performance. We have to find a way to clean that up.”
Up next, lefty Blaine Hardy (43, 3.61) starts Friday at Oakland against ex-Blue Jays lefty Brett Anderson (2-2, 5.55).