Tigers waste every opportunity to score in loss to Rangers
The Detroit Tigers wasted every opportunity.
Old friend Michael Lorenzen, a veteran right-hander who pitched for the Tigers last season, started for the Texas Rangers in Monday’s opener of a four-game series at Comerica Park. He wasn’t sharp in his first start of the season, but that didn’t matter because the Tigers failed to get the big hit in a 1-0 loss to the Rangers.
The Tigers (9-7) grounded into three double plays through the first five innings, including a pair of inning-ending double plays from Mark Canha. Lorenzen threw five scoreless innings despite walking five and giving up three hits.
The lack of offense was especially frustrating because right-hander Reese Olson pitched into the seventh inning for just the third time in his 21-start career. He allowed one run on six hits and one walk with eight strikeouts over 61⁄3 innings, but the Tigers couldn’t back him up by scoring runs.
The double plays against Lorenzen happened in the third inning, fourth inning and fifth inning.
In the third, Canha grounded into an inning-ending double play after Riley Greene’s walk. In the fourth, Matt Vierling grounded into a double play after walks from Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter. In the fifth, Canha grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded, after singles from Gio Urshela and Javier Báez and another walk from Greene.
The Tigers ran into troubles on offense later in the game, as well.
In the eighth inning, Canha doubled and Torkelson reached safely on catcher interference with one out against right-handed reliever David Robertson. The momentum was killed — and the two runners were stranded — when Carpenter lined out and Wenceel Pérez struck out looking.
Pérez battled for nine pitches, but Robertson froze him with a curveball located in the strike zone.
Right-handed reliever Kirby Yates sent down the Tigers in order in the bottom of the ninth inning: Colt Keith (groundout), Urshela (groundout) and Báez (flyout).
The Tigers finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Olson threw 95 pitches and kept the Tigers within striking distance.
He recorded strikeouts for six of his first seven outs: Marcus Semien (swinging strike, changeup), Evan Carter (swinging strike, slider), Adolis García (swinging strike, changeup), Ezequiel Duran (swinging strike, slider), Jared Walsh (swinging strike, slider) and Leody Taveras (swinging strike, curveball).
Olson also struck out Josh Smith (swinging strike, slider) in the fourth inning and García (swinging strike, changeup) in the sixth inning. He didn’t get any strikeouts in the fifth inning, which is when the Rangers scored.
The first three batters reached to load the
bases: Jonah Heim hit a curveball at the bottom of the strike zone for a double to right field. Olson then sprayed two fastballs as part of a six-pitch walk to Walsh. And Taveras hit a single that deflected off the glove of diving a Torkelson at first base.
Semien grounded into a force out, but it was enough to put the Rangers ahead, 1-0.
Olson left one on with one out in the seventh inning for left-handed reliever Tyler Holton, who retired back-to-back batters to end the inning. Olson previously pitched into the seventh inning Sept. 2 and Sept. 8 during his rookie year last season, both against the Chicago White Sox.
Against the Rangers, Olson generated 16 whiffs (on 46 swings) with 10 changeups, five sliders and one curveball. HIs four-seam fastball produced eight of his 15 called strikes, plus an additional two called strikes from his sinker.
His changeup-slider combination was dynamite.
Riley Greene’s strong throw
There could have been another run in the fifth inning.
The Rangers tested the arm of Greene in left field, and he made them pay by throwing out Walsh trying to score from third base on a flyout. He was not close to beating Greene’s strong throw of 90 mph.
The double play ended the inning, and marked the first time Greene threw out a runner at home. He entered the game with 1,6872⁄3 innings as an outfielder — mostly as a center fielder — in his three-year MLB career.