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The News' Andrew Graham gives his quick takes on the Tigers' 4-2 loss to the Phillies on Saturday:
After writing about his moment more generally Friday, I’m writing about Eduardo Valencia again because he’s now hit two home runs amidst a fantastic start to his time in the big leagues.
Valencia, with a solo home run in the middle of Detroit’s loss on Saturday, now has a hit, run and RBI in each of his first three games in MLB.
On Thursday, Valencia had a glorious debut, mashing a home run in his first MLB at-bat and then giving an emotional interview. On Friday, he came through with a clutch RBI single to start a rally that propelled Detroit to a lopsided win. And while his homer on Saturday didn’t do much in the grand scheme for Detroit, it raises a bigger question about the offensive boost Valencia can provide.
The problem is he plays catcher primarily, where All-Star Dillon Dingler has the everyday job locked down. But significant DH reps could be in order if Valencia keeps hitting like this.
And man, does he just keep on hitting.
Tough night for Casey Mize after making strong starts in his last two outings, both of which turned into Tigers wins. No such luck as Mize got roughed up in the fourth inning on Saturday.
It was by no means a bad night for Mize, but he muddled through 5⅔ innings giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts. Teams like Philadelphia will do that to you, with its dangerous set of hitters at the top of the lineup.
The first run, the unearned one, was helped along in part by a throwing error by Kevin McGonigle that allowed Derek Hill to reach in the third inning. But in the fourth, Mize walked the leadoff man, got a strikeout, then gave up a single and found himself in trouble against J.T. Realmuto.
A slider left low down the middle got turned around for a double and suddenly Detroit trailed, 3-0, then 4-0 as Realmuto scored on a single later in the inning.
It wasn’t so bad that Detroit couldn’t have found a way to win, but Mize skidding out for a loss after a hot run of games is a bummer.
(Season total in parentheses)
▶ Eduardo Valencia (2) — keep playing like this and get used to this treatment.
▶ Matt Vierling (10)
▶ J.T. Realmuto
(Season total in parentheses)
▶ Cristopher Sánchez
▶ Game 96: Phillies at Tigers, 1:40 Saturday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1
ICYMI: Wednesday's Tigers recap
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 95: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't
Continue reading...
One thing I loved
After writing about his moment more generally Friday, I’m writing about Eduardo Valencia again because he’s now hit two home runs amidst a fantastic start to his time in the big leagues.
Valencia, with a solo home run in the middle of Detroit’s loss on Saturday, now has a hit, run and RBI in each of his first three games in MLB.
On Thursday, Valencia had a glorious debut, mashing a home run in his first MLB at-bat and then giving an emotional interview. On Friday, he came through with a clutch RBI single to start a rally that propelled Detroit to a lopsided win. And while his homer on Saturday didn’t do much in the grand scheme for Detroit, it raises a bigger question about the offensive boost Valencia can provide.
The problem is he plays catcher primarily, where All-Star Dillon Dingler has the everyday job locked down. But significant DH reps could be in order if Valencia keeps hitting like this.
And man, does he just keep on hitting.
One thing I didn't
Tough night for Casey Mize after making strong starts in his last two outings, both of which turned into Tigers wins. No such luck as Mize got roughed up in the fourth inning on Saturday.
It was by no means a bad night for Mize, but he muddled through 5⅔ innings giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts. Teams like Philadelphia will do that to you, with its dangerous set of hitters at the top of the lineup.
The first run, the unearned one, was helped along in part by a throwing error by Kevin McGonigle that allowed Derek Hill to reach in the third inning. But in the fourth, Mize walked the leadoff man, got a strikeout, then gave up a single and found himself in trouble against J.T. Realmuto.
A slider left low down the middle got turned around for a double and suddenly Detroit trailed, 3-0, then 4-0 as Realmuto scored on a single later in the inning.
It wasn’t so bad that Detroit couldn’t have found a way to win, but Mize skidding out for a loss after a hot run of games is a bummer.
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
▶ Eduardo Valencia (2) — keep playing like this and get used to this treatment.
▶ Matt Vierling (10)
▶ J.T. Realmuto
Player of the game
(Season total in parentheses)
▶ Cristopher Sánchez
Next Tigers game
▶ Game 96: Phillies at Tigers, 1:40 Saturday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1
ICYMI: Wednesday's Tigers recap
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 95: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't
Continue reading...
