Reese Olson was good but too many atom balls kept the Tiger offense in check.
With the Tigers the first team in MLB to hit the 30 win mark at 30-15, the roar is firmly restored in Detroit. Yesterday the team went East of the border and played a thrilling game against Toronto, prevailing 5-4 behind a few massive home runs. Game two of the international series pitted the Baby-Faced Assassin, Reese Olson, against lefty journeyman Eric Lauer.
The roof was closed on a soggy afternoon at the Rogers Centre when Lauer took the mound. After a groundout, Gleyber Torres hit a ball that dropped into the right field corner for a double. However, Lauer rebounded to strikeout Riley Greene and Andy Ibáñez, ending the threat.
Reese Olson, wielding an outstanding changeup once again, came out to face one of the top-hitting teams against the change-up. He gave up a groundball single but retired the next three batters without much of a fight, ending with a great strikeout of a refurbished George Springer.
Spencer Torkelson greeted Lauer with a 2nd pitch bomb to left center, a 399 foot majestic blast. Colt Keith gave one a ride that stayed in the park for a double. Javy Báez, the hero of last night’s game, hit a deep fly to center that advanced Keith. Tomás Nido popped out to shallow right field and Zach McKinstry, playing SS in this one, flied out to strand Keith. The squandering was coming early in this one.
The Jays went down meekly in the 2nd, punctuated by 1B Ernie Clement fouling a ball off his knee and having to get some medical attention.
In the third, Lauer’s stuff was really rocking. The Tigers went 1-2-3 by striking out three ways: looking, swinging, and on a foul-tip.
Bottom of the frame saw a 12 pitch battle that backup catcher Tyler Heineman won, leading off the inning with a walk. Olson went 3-0 on the next batter before a mound visit calmed him down. He induced a pop-out and a smooth ground ball double play to end the inning.
Lauer’s day was done after three innings of 1-run ball. Given that it was his first start of the season, it wasn’t too shabby against the hard-hitting Tigers. Yariel Rodríguez, a righty, relieved him and dispatched Detroit with ease.
Olson continued to abuse the Blue Jays, denying them even a baserunner through the 4th and 5th innings.
The Tigers got a Nido knock – just a single – but nothing else in the top of the 5th. A new reliever, lefty Brendon Little, relieved Rodríguez in the 6th. He struck out two as both teams were now struggling with the others’ pitching.
Olson won round two against Heineman, striking him out swinging. He induced a grounder and struck out Bichette to end the 6th. At that point, Olson had faced the minimum 18 batters after a leadoff single in the 1st inning. Utter domination.
Old Tigers farmhand Chad Green relieved Little in the 7th. Kerry Carpenter pinch-hit but flied out. Tork smacked a laser towards third but 3B Barger made a highlight snag, robbing him of extra bases. Keith walked but Javy flew out, ending any chance.
Olson’s day was done after 6 innings. He gave up a single and a walk, striking out 6 in a dominant performance. Beau Brieske relieved him after closing out last night’s game. With Sweeney now at SS, Carpenter in right field, and Justyn-Henry Malloy out of the game, the defense shifted around. Brieske walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to lead off the inning. Varsho hit a smoked ball between first and second that Guerrero had to Matrix his way around, somehow dodging the ball by millimeters; Keith was still able to field it after the player screen and get the out at first. Unfortunately, bad Brieske was back and he walked Springer before being pulled for Tyler Holton. The Jays pinch-hit the speedy Myles Straw, one of the fastest guys in the game. Holton was nails though, causing Straw to hit a sharp grounder for an inning-ending double play, keeping the Jays off the board. Huge play on a single pitch and a great rebound for Holton, who has struggled of late.
Yimi García came on for…Straw? Turns out the Jays, desperate for a hit, had decided to lose their DH when they brought Straw in; Guerrero Jr went from DH to 1B and Clement went from 1B to 3B. García retired the Tigers without breaking a sweat in the 8th, however.
Holton stayed out for the bottom of the frame but immediately walked the leadoff guy, Clement, whom Dan Dickerson had described as, “this guy does not walk”. The Jays bunted him to second, just playing for the tie. AJ Hinch had seen enough and brought in Will “Safety” Vest. Vest battled pinch-hitting Alejandro Kirk before Kirk smacked a ball just inside the 1B line, scoring the tying run. Vest struck out Stefanic and got Bichette to ground out, but the damage was done and the game was tied.
Jeff Hoffman took the mound in the top of the 9th. He’s struggled of late and walked Torres. Greene flied out to deep left field and Torres took off for second on a tag but he was thrown out in a bang-bang play. The Tigers challenged and lost, likely due to inconclusive evidence to overturn. Carpenter grounded out and that was that.
In the bottom of the 9th, Detroit turned to Brenan Hanifee. Keith made a fine play to get the first out before Varsho laced a double down the 1B line. Springer grounded out to 2nd, moving the runner over with two outs. The Jays pinch-hit Anthony Santander, who has struggled mightily. Hinch didn’t mess with the power hitter, intentionally walking him to bring up Clement. Unfortunately, the move backfired when Clement knocked a single through the infield, scoring Varsho and ending the game. Final score: Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1.