Tigers 3, Dodgers 7: Swept out of LA

Dodgers bullpen shuts down Tigers bats after promising start

After dropping the first two games of the opening series against the powerhouse Dodgers , the Tigers looked to avoid the sweep in this West Coast bout. The Tigers had been hanging tough against possibly the best team money can buy and develop, even requiring a dicey overturned play at the plate last night to allow the Dodgers to beat them in extras.

For the Tigers, Reese Olson took the mound for his first start of the season. Olson gave the team 112 innings of solid baseball last season, pitching to a FIP of 3.17 and a bWAR of 1.3. Facing him was the Dodgers’ newest and shiniest toy, Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, the top overall prospect in baseball. Sasaki made his debut during LA’s series against the Cubs in Japan, pitching 3 innings of 1-run ball.

Zach McKinstry, playing 3B, got it started with a solid single in the top of the first. Riley Greene struck out but Spencer Torkleson battled and rocketed a single to left field. Kerry Carpenter, lethal against righties, unfortunately popped one up. However, the Tigers would not be denied. Colt Keith worked a walk to load the bases, then Manny Margot hit an absolute missile….about 20 feet, right down the 3B line, and everyone was safe. 1-0 Tigers. Trey Sweeney battled for a 10 pitch walk, forcing in another run. 2-0 Tigers and Sasaki was at 38 pitches. Jake Rogers eventually grounded out but the Tigers were looking strong.

Olson got Shohei Ohtani to strike out swinging, following that by getting Teoscar Hernández to fly out. Hoping to escape the inning unscathed, Reese unfortunately gave up a monster HR to the “how is he still doing this that easily at that age” Freddie Freeman. Olson rebounded to strike out Will Smith but the Dodgers had pulled within one run.

Sasaki came back out for the second and had about the same amount of success. Ryan Kreidler worked a walk and stole second on a poor pitch. The next two batters didn’t do much but Tork was able to keep getting on base, taking a nifty pitch for a walk. At 61 pitches through less than 2 innings, Sasaki was pulled for left Jack Dreyer. Dreyer was able to fool Carpenter, striking him out to end the threat. Sasaki’s final line: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 2K, 2ER.

Olson went back out for the 2nd and ran into trouble. After striking out Max Muncy, centerfielder Andy Pages singled. Michael Conforto hit a bullet a few inches off the 1B line, doubling and driving in Pages. There may have been a bit of a play as Pages ran through a stop sign but Colt Keith’s relay throw was to nobody, allowing the runner to score. Reese was able to rebound for the final two outs, but the game was tied 2-2.

The game got quiet for awhile, with both teams failing to land a baserunner in the third or fourth innings. Olson ended the 4th with a nasty slider to strike out Pages.

After the Tigers continued to struggle against the Dodgers bullpen, Olson came back out for the bottom of the 5th. Conforto walked and advanced to third on two groundouts. Hinch opted to intentionally walk Ohtani and face Hernández instead. It backfired as he laced a double just inside the third base line, scoring two. Riley Greene made a poor play on the double, allowing Ohtani to score when a solid play may have otherwise gotten him at the plate. That was it for Olson, who gave way to Brant Hurter. Hurter calmly got the dangerous Freeman to ground out but the Tigers were now down 4-2.

The fourth Dodgers reliever, Luis García, continued the bullpen dominance in the 6th by retiring the Tigers 1-2-3. The Tigers hadn’t had a baserunner since Sasaki left.

In the bottom of the 6th, Will Smith launched a no-doubter HR off Hurter. Brant rebounded to get the rest of the outs in the inning but it was 5-2 LA.

Jake Rogers launched a pitch deep to center to lead off the 7th that Pages got into his glove; however, he collided with the wall and it popped out, allowing the sheriff to rumble all the way to third. He was called safe after a review, a bit surprisingly. Kreidler struck out by McKinstry grounded out to first, scoring the run….and Freddie Freeman never got to the bag, waiting on García who never reacted, so the runner was safe. Unfortunately Greene’s offensive struggles continued as he immediately grounded into a double play, ending the inning. 5-3 LA.

Kenta Maeda, demoted to the bullpen during Spring Training, threw his first pitch in the bottom of the 7th. Edman deposited it into the stands. Not great, Bob! Miguel Rojas hit a liner that Sweeney jumped and snagged, bringing up Ohtani and the top of the lineup. Kenta walked his countryman on four pitches nowhere close to the strike zone. An easy stolen base during a strikeout put Ohtani at second, where he easily scored on a Freeman double. A popup ended the inning but the Dodgers put up two more, 7-3 LA.

Kirby Yates appeared and struck out the side in the top of the 8th. Brutal. Maeda also got the Dodgers out with little fanfare in the bottom of the inning.

Top of the 9th, Tigers down to their last three outs. They faced elite closer Blake Treinen. Margot lofted a soft single into the outfield to get things going, but Sweeney, Rogers, and a pinch-hitting Dingler all failed to do anything against Treinen, ending the game.

Final, Dodgers 7, Tigers 3. Tigers stay on the road for a three game series against the Mariners starting on Monday.