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The News' Tony Paul gives his quick takes on the Tigers' 9-6 loss to the Diamondbacks on Monday:
For those of you hoping for some "Must-See JV," hey, at least you got to see the entirety of Justin Verlander's Tigers reboot well before midnight Eastern Daylight Time.
It was nifty to see Verlander back in a Tigers uniform for the first time in 3,135 days (his number is, of course, 35), even if the stuff wasn't vintage. He was beat around for five runs on six hits, his night done after just 3.2 innings, before Corbin Carroll (homer, triple) could get one more bite at that apple. Even a lot of the outs were hit hard.
He at least recorded one strikeout (take a boy, Alek Thomas), avoiding just the fifth start as a Tiger without recording one, in his 381st start with Detroit — and first since Aug. 30, 2017.
"Justin Verlander is a Tiger again," Jason Benetti opened the Detroit SportsNet broadcast, "back where he belongs."
Can't fault Benetti's enthusiasm. After all, who could've seen this clunker coming? Verlander came into Monday night's game with a 2.31 ERA in his previous 11 starts with the Tigers. (Yeah, yeah, I see your eyerolls, and I accept them.)
Verlander's next start, on Easter, will mark his return to Comerica Park, for NBC's "Sunday Night Baseball."
Tigers hitters (lifeless for eight innings, lively for one) had 14 more strikeouts, for 46 through four games.
Michael Soroka, making his debut for the Diamondbacks, had 10 of them, including three on nine pitches in his final inning, the fifth. It was the rare immaculate innings: good morning, good afternoon, good night, Javier Baez, Kerry Carpenter and Gleyber Torres. (Baez could've denied Soroka history, but he declined to challenge a false strike.)
It was the first immaculate inning against the Tigers since Sept. 18, 2020, when fortunately no fans saw Cleveland's Zach Plesac go nine-for-nine against — ready for this? — Jorge Bonifacio, Niko Goodrum and Austin Romine.
Carpenter, by the way, did get his first hit of 2026, but he also had four more strikeouts. He now has 10 K's through four games, all from the leadoff spot. Woof.
▶ Batters/hits: 12/six
▶ Walks/balks: Three/two
▶ Pitches/pitchers: 44/three
▶ Minutes: 27
▶ Tigers' previous 16 innings: Zero runs on seven hits
(Season total in parentheses)
▶ Dillon Dingler (2)
▶ Riley Greene
▶ Javier Baez — that catch, yo!
▶ Colt Keith
▶ Game 5: Tigers at Diamondbacks, 9:40 Tuesday, DSN, 97.1
ICYMI: Saturday's Tigers recap
[email protected]
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 4: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't
Continue reading...
One thing I loved
For those of you hoping for some "Must-See JV," hey, at least you got to see the entirety of Justin Verlander's Tigers reboot well before midnight Eastern Daylight Time.
It was nifty to see Verlander back in a Tigers uniform for the first time in 3,135 days (his number is, of course, 35), even if the stuff wasn't vintage. He was beat around for five runs on six hits, his night done after just 3.2 innings, before Corbin Carroll (homer, triple) could get one more bite at that apple. Even a lot of the outs were hit hard.
He at least recorded one strikeout (take a boy, Alek Thomas), avoiding just the fifth start as a Tiger without recording one, in his 381st start with Detroit — and first since Aug. 30, 2017.
"Justin Verlander is a Tiger again," Jason Benetti opened the Detroit SportsNet broadcast, "back where he belongs."
Can't fault Benetti's enthusiasm. After all, who could've seen this clunker coming? Verlander came into Monday night's game with a 2.31 ERA in his previous 11 starts with the Tigers. (Yeah, yeah, I see your eyerolls, and I accept them.)
Verlander's next start, on Easter, will mark his return to Comerica Park, for NBC's "Sunday Night Baseball."
One thing I didn't
Tigers hitters (lifeless for eight innings, lively for one) had 14 more strikeouts, for 46 through four games.
Michael Soroka, making his debut for the Diamondbacks, had 10 of them, including three on nine pitches in his final inning, the fifth. It was the rare immaculate innings: good morning, good afternoon, good night, Javier Baez, Kerry Carpenter and Gleyber Torres. (Baez could've denied Soroka history, but he declined to challenge a false strike.)
It was the first immaculate inning against the Tigers since Sept. 18, 2020, when fortunately no fans saw Cleveland's Zach Plesac go nine-for-nine against — ready for this? — Jorge Bonifacio, Niko Goodrum and Austin Romine.
Carpenter, by the way, did get his first hit of 2026, but he also had four more strikeouts. He now has 10 K's through four games, all from the leadoff spot. Woof.
Anatomy of the Tigers' sixth-run seventh
▶ Batters/hits: 12/six
▶ Walks/balks: Three/two
▶ Pitches/pitchers: 44/three
▶ Minutes: 27
▶ Tigers' previous 16 innings: Zero runs on seven hits
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
▶ Dillon Dingler (2)
▶ Riley Greene
▶ Javier Baez — that catch, yo!
Player of the game
▶ Colt Keith
Next Tigers game
▶ Game 5: Tigers at Diamondbacks, 9:40 Tuesday, DSN, 97.1
ICYMI: Saturday's Tigers recap
[email protected]
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 4: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't
Continue reading...
