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CLEVELAND – Two pitchers are back. One pitcher is gone. And so it goes for the Detroit Tigers starting rotation.
While Tarik Skubal prepped for his return Saturday, June 13, after missing nearly five weeks because of loose bodies in his elbow, Jack Flaherty tried to describe the discomfort he felt in his lower left leg.
He couldn’t.
The Tigers eventually settled on a left peroneal strain and placed him on the 15-day injured list.
Meanwhile, Casey Mize is set to return Sunday, June 14. The Tigers right-handed pitcher had been on the 15-day injured list with abductor inflammation, his second stint on the IL this season.
When Mize has pitched, he’s looked dominant, and in control.
“Awesome,” was the word A.J. Hinch used to describe him. “I feel for him. His presence matters. His calmness matters. He's developed nicely with his two different breaking balls. His confidence is probably at his highest.”
Confidence is never an issue for Skubal. His manager and his teammates were looking forward to the return of that swag. Confidence is more fleeting for Flaherty, as it is for most mortals, but the righty looked as sharp as he had all season in the first inning of his start Friday, June 12.
FOLLOW ALONG: Tarik Skubal live stats in Tigers vs Guardians as Detroit ace returns
He hit 96 mph on the radar and was locating. Then he felt tightness, discomfort, not quite right. He talked about it with the team between innings and when he went to field a ball in the second inning, he felt his lower leg get tighter. And so he asked himself:
“Can I be effective?”
No, he couldn’t, and he could tell pretty easily in the second inning, when the velocity dropped and he began leaving pitches over the middle.
“I wasn’t finishing the same way after the first, my mechanics weren’t the same,” he said. “There was a lot of discomfort. Lower part of my leg, don’t know really exactly how to describe it.”
That it came when he seemed to have found his best stuff of the season was a blow, but Flaherty wasn't going to worry too much about any metaphysical meaning or, you know, get ahead of himself.
“Play it hour-by-hour, day-by-day,” he said.
He felt better Saturday than Friday, and that already felt like a small victory.
To account for Skubal’s return, the Tigers optioned Ty Madden to Triple-A Toledo. The corresponding move for Flaherty’s placement on the IL was bringing infielder Hao-Yu Lee up from Triple-A Toledo. When Mize returns, it’s possible Lee will get sent back down. If not, Hinch said a position player would be sent down.
As for Madden, Hinch said he told the pitcher he would continue to get opportunities.
“I said there’s going to be a little back and forth ... but I think I think starting is valuable for him,” Hinch said.
No doubt Madden will get more chances. The Tigers like his pitch mix and his ability to fool hitters.
Besides, Hinch said:
“Just when you think we have too many starters, [here we are] dealing with another starter injury, so you never know.”
Contact Shawn Windsor: [email protected]. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize return, Jack Flaherty placed on injured list
Continue reading...
While Tarik Skubal prepped for his return Saturday, June 13, after missing nearly five weeks because of loose bodies in his elbow, Jack Flaherty tried to describe the discomfort he felt in his lower left leg.
He couldn’t.
The Tigers eventually settled on a left peroneal strain and placed him on the 15-day injured list.
Meanwhile, Casey Mize is set to return Sunday, June 14. The Tigers right-handed pitcher had been on the 15-day injured list with abductor inflammation, his second stint on the IL this season.
When Mize has pitched, he’s looked dominant, and in control.
“Awesome,” was the word A.J. Hinch used to describe him. “I feel for him. His presence matters. His calmness matters. He's developed nicely with his two different breaking balls. His confidence is probably at his highest.”
Confidence is never an issue for Skubal. His manager and his teammates were looking forward to the return of that swag. Confidence is more fleeting for Flaherty, as it is for most mortals, but the righty looked as sharp as he had all season in the first inning of his start Friday, June 12.
FOLLOW ALONG: Tarik Skubal live stats in Tigers vs Guardians as Detroit ace returns
He hit 96 mph on the radar and was locating. Then he felt tightness, discomfort, not quite right. He talked about it with the team between innings and when he went to field a ball in the second inning, he felt his lower leg get tighter. And so he asked himself:
“Can I be effective?”
No, he couldn’t, and he could tell pretty easily in the second inning, when the velocity dropped and he began leaving pitches over the middle.
“I wasn’t finishing the same way after the first, my mechanics weren’t the same,” he said. “There was a lot of discomfort. Lower part of my leg, don’t know really exactly how to describe it.”
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That it came when he seemed to have found his best stuff of the season was a blow, but Flaherty wasn't going to worry too much about any metaphysical meaning or, you know, get ahead of himself.
“Play it hour-by-hour, day-by-day,” he said.
He felt better Saturday than Friday, and that already felt like a small victory.
To account for Skubal’s return, the Tigers optioned Ty Madden to Triple-A Toledo. The corresponding move for Flaherty’s placement on the IL was bringing infielder Hao-Yu Lee up from Triple-A Toledo. When Mize returns, it’s possible Lee will get sent back down. If not, Hinch said a position player would be sent down.
As for Madden, Hinch said he told the pitcher he would continue to get opportunities.
“I said there’s going to be a little back and forth ... but I think I think starting is valuable for him,” Hinch said.
No doubt Madden will get more chances. The Tigers like his pitch mix and his ability to fool hitters.
Besides, Hinch said:
“Just when you think we have too many starters, [here we are] dealing with another starter injury, so you never know.”
Contact Shawn Windsor: [email protected]. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize return, Jack Flaherty placed on injured list
Continue reading...
