And welcome back, Reese Olson!
Happy Reese Olson returns from his rehab assignment day to all those who celebrate! Oh, is there another holiday today? I was unaware. The Tigers were in Cleveland, hoping to shake off the bad vibes of their series loss in Washington, and turning to their newly restored starter to do it. The Guardians, meanwhile, were hoping Slade Cecconi would help them best their division rivals.
Colt Keith got the first inning started with a single, then Riley Greene got a two-out walk. A Spencer Torkelson single loaded up the bases, but the Tigers left them all stranded. With two outs in the home half, certified Tiger-killer Jose Ramirez did what he does best, and made a Tigers pitcher look silly, hitting a solo homer to put the Guardians on the board first. Back-to-back singles to Carlos Santana and Nolan Jones made things a little tense, but Olson ultimately pitched out of the jam.
In the top of the second, Parker Meadows got a one-out single, but two outs followed to leave him stranded. Bo Naylor got a one-out double in the bottom of the inning. Angel Martinez then singled, but Naylor got tagged out at home. The Guardians challenged the play, but the out call was upheld. A really nice throw by Wenceel Perez.
In the top of the third with one out, Wenceel Perez continued his campaign to become everyone’s favorite player, as he hit a solo home run to tie the game. So not only did he keep the Guardians from getting another run, he took away their existing lead, too.
Carlos Santana got a two-out walk in the home half, but the Guardians couldn’t bring him home.
The top of the fourth started with a solo home run by Zach McKinstry.
Matt Vierling followed the homer with a walk, then Dillon Dingler got a one-out single, but the Tigers would have to settle for the one run. In the home half, the Guardians went down in order.
The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Steven Kwan singled, and that was the end of the night for Olson. His final line was 4.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR on 89 pitches. It’s too soon to really say much about Olson’s return, but it certainly wasn’t a terrible first game back. Interestingly, in his first game bac,k there were two pitch-clock violations in the same game, but they were both by batters (one for each team), which might be the first time that has happened all year. Tyler Holton replaced Olson. Eternally pesky Jose Ramirez singled, but Holton ultimately got out of the pressure cooker.
The Tigers went down in order in the top of the sixth. The Guardians were likewise hitless in the home half.
Matt Festa came out of the Guardians’ pen in the top of the seventh. Dingler hit a leadoff single but was then eliminated in a double play with Colt Keith. Gleyber Torres walked, but the Tigers left him stranded. Another 1-2-3 inning for the Guardians in the bottom of the seventh.
The Tigers were three-up, three-down in the top of the eighth. Tommy Kahnle came in for the home half and gave up a two-out walk to Santana. Nolan Jones then singled, putting runners at the corners. That was it for Kahnle, who was removed in favor of Will Vest. A pinch-hitting David Fry walked, but Vest got the final out of the inning with no damage done.
Doug Nikhazy came in for the top of the ninth, and got the Tigers out in order. Will Vest returned in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Steven Kwan doubled down the line in left. But Vest turned it around to get the final out of the inning and lock down the win.