A really nice start by Reese Olson squandered by the bullpen.
We’re back! The All-Star break is over, and hopefully everyone enjoyed a little R&R, because the second half of the season will be a relentless push for October. In tonight’s first game back, the Tigers were up against the Texas Rangers. Reese Olson was on the mound for the Tigers, up against Patrick Corbin for the Rangers.
In the top of the first, the Tigers went 1-2-3 to start things off. The Rangers did much the same in the home half. Fair warning, this is a game that takes a while to get going in terms of scoring, so you can expect some pretty speedy innings for the bulk of this recap.
Spencer Torkelson got a leadoff walk in the second, then got tagged out at second for the first out of the inning. Matt Vierling singled, then, with two outs, stole second. He was left stranded, however. In the home half, Evan Carter got a one-out walk, then attempted to steal second. Carter was initially called safe at second, but the Tigers challenged the call and it was overturned. The Rangers wouldn’t get another chance at a run in the inning.
The Tigers went three-up, three-down in the top of the third. What should have been a second out on a catch by Riley Greene was initially ruled a single by Kyle Higashioka; the Tigers challenged, but the call on the field was upheld.
Jonah Heim reached on a throwing error by Javier Baez, but even with runners at the corners, the Rangers weren’t able to get on the board.
Spencer Torkelson got a two-out single in the top of the fourth, but he was the Tigers’ sole baserunner for the inning. The Rangers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.
In the top of the fifth, Dillon Dingler got a one-out walk, then got eliminated by a force out off the bat of Zach McKinstry. Javier Baez then singled, and stole second. Despite the hustle, the Tigers weren’t able to score any runs. In the home half the Rangers once again went down in order.
With two outs in the top of the sixth, Shawn Armstrong replaced Corbin, and came in to get the final out of the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Jonah Heim kicked things off with a double, and that was the end of the day for Olson, who had a very nice outing, with a final line of 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K on 90 pitches. He was replaced by Tyler Holton. Heim advanced to third on a sac bunt by Josh Smith, but Holton then collected the final two outs of the inning with no damage done.
A pinch-hitting Colt Keith opened the seventh with a walk, but was then eliminated in a Wenceel Perez double play. A Dingler lineout ended the inning. In the home half Holton collected two outs before being replaced by Chase Lee, who got the final out of the inning. Still no score.
Chris Martin came in for the top of the eighth, and Jason Benetti was ready with some very timely jokes. Zach McKinstry walked, then Javier Baez grounded into a double play. A Gleyber Torres strikeout ended the inning. The Tigers turned pitching duties over to Tommy Kahnle for the bottom for the ninth. Kyle Higashioka got a one-out double, and Cody Freeman came in to run for him. A Heim groundout pushed Freeman to third. Josh Smith walked, and then a Corey Seager double scored two runs. A flyout ended the inning, but the damage was certainly done.
In the top of the ninth, the Tigers were now trailing by two and down to their last opportunity to make something happen. With two outs by reliever Robert Garcia, Torkelson singled. Jake Rogers came in as a pinch-hitter, and struck out to end the game.
A rough loss.