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Tigers Shutout the Rangers 3-0
The Tigers did not need much offense Saturday afternoon at Globe Life Field because Jack Flaherty and Keider Montero handled the rest.
Detroit beat Texas, 3-0, using an early Riley Greene home run, clean defense and a steady pitching plan that kept the Rangers off the board. The win gives the Tigers a chance to take the series Sunday, with Casey Mize scheduled to face Kumar Rocker.
The Tigers jumped on Cal Quantrill right away in the first inning. Kevin McGonigle flew out and Dillon Dingler popped out, but Kerry Carpenter kept the inning alive with a sharp single to center. Greene followed by driving a two-run homer to right field, his 12th of the season, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead before Flaherty threw his first pitch.
Texas put Joc Pederson aboard with a leadoff single in the bottom of the first, but Flaherty settled in quickly. Josh Smith flew out, Josh Jung struck out looking and Brandon Nimmo grounded out to Spencer Torkelson at first. From there, Flaherty worked with control and kept the Rangers from building any real pressure.
Detroit added its third run in the second. Colt Keith opened the inning with a single to center. Zach McKinstry then reached on an error by left fielder Alejandro Osuna, putting runners at second and third with nobody out. Ben Malgeri followed with an RBI groundout to shortstop, scoring Keith and moving McKinstry to third. The Tigers had a chance to add more after McGonigle walked and Dingler was hit by a pitch, but Carpenter flew out to end the inning.
That was enough support for Flaherty, who gave Detroit 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, struck out five and did not walk a batter. Texas only had a few scoring threats against him. Evan Carter was hit by a pitch in the second, but Elias Díaz grounded out to end that inning. Carter singled in the fifth, but Flaherty answered by striking out Díaz and getting Nicky Lopez to ground out. In the sixth, Jung doubled with two outs, which ended Flaherty’s day.
Tyler Holton entered and handled the matchup, getting Nimmo to ground out to second baseman Zach McKinstry to finish the sixth. After that, A.J. Hinch turned the game over to Montero, and the right-hander delivered one of the cleaner relief appearances of his young career.
Montero covered the final three innings and recorded his first career save. He did it without a strikeout, which stood out because the outs came through weak contact, routine defense and efficient execution. He did not allow a hit or a run. His only baserunner came in the seventh, when Carter drew a two-out walk. Díaz followed by grounding out to McKinstry, ending the inning.
The eighth inning was where Detroit’s defense helped Montero keep the game clean. Torkelson made an excellent sliding stop at first base and flipped to Montero covering the bag to retire Lopez. Pederson then grounded out to Torkelson, and Smith grounded out to McKinstry, giving Montero a seven-pitch inning.
In the ninth, Jung grounded out to Keith, who made a diving stop at third base. Nimmo flew out sharply to James Outman in center, and Osuna grounded out to McGonigle at shortstop to end it.
The Tigers now go into Sunday with a chance to win the series against Texas. Mize gets the ball against Rocker, and Detroit will look to carry over the same pitching-and-defense structure from Saturday’s shutout.
Follow me on "X" @rogcastbaseball
Continue reading...
The Tigers did not need much offense Saturday afternoon at Globe Life Field because Jack Flaherty and Keider Montero handled the rest.
Detroit beat Texas, 3-0, using an early Riley Greene home run, clean defense and a steady pitching plan that kept the Rangers off the board. The win gives the Tigers a chance to take the series Sunday, with Casey Mize scheduled to face Kumar Rocker.
The Tigers jumped on Cal Quantrill right away in the first inning. Kevin McGonigle flew out and Dillon Dingler popped out, but Kerry Carpenter kept the inning alive with a sharp single to center. Greene followed by driving a two-run homer to right field, his 12th of the season, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead before Flaherty threw his first pitch.
Texas put Joc Pederson aboard with a leadoff single in the bottom of the first, but Flaherty settled in quickly. Josh Smith flew out, Josh Jung struck out looking and Brandon Nimmo grounded out to Spencer Torkelson at first. From there, Flaherty worked with control and kept the Rangers from building any real pressure.
Detroit added its third run in the second. Colt Keith opened the inning with a single to center. Zach McKinstry then reached on an error by left fielder Alejandro Osuna, putting runners at second and third with nobody out. Ben Malgeri followed with an RBI groundout to shortstop, scoring Keith and moving McKinstry to third. The Tigers had a chance to add more after McGonigle walked and Dingler was hit by a pitch, but Carpenter flew out to end the inning.
That was enough support for Flaherty, who gave Detroit 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, struck out five and did not walk a batter. Texas only had a few scoring threats against him. Evan Carter was hit by a pitch in the second, but Elias Díaz grounded out to end that inning. Carter singled in the fifth, but Flaherty answered by striking out Díaz and getting Nicky Lopez to ground out. In the sixth, Jung doubled with two outs, which ended Flaherty’s day.
Tyler Holton entered and handled the matchup, getting Nimmo to ground out to second baseman Zach McKinstry to finish the sixth. After that, A.J. Hinch turned the game over to Montero, and the right-hander delivered one of the cleaner relief appearances of his young career.
Montero covered the final three innings and recorded his first career save. He did it without a strikeout, which stood out because the outs came through weak contact, routine defense and efficient execution. He did not allow a hit or a run. His only baserunner came in the seventh, when Carter drew a two-out walk. Díaz followed by grounding out to McKinstry, ending the inning.
The eighth inning was where Detroit’s defense helped Montero keep the game clean. Torkelson made an excellent sliding stop at first base and flipped to Montero covering the bag to retire Lopez. Pederson then grounded out to Torkelson, and Smith grounded out to McKinstry, giving Montero a seven-pitch inning.
In the ninth, Jung grounded out to Keith, who made a diving stop at third base. Nimmo flew out sharply to James Outman in center, and Osuna grounded out to McGonigle at shortstop to end it.
The Tigers now go into Sunday with a chance to win the series against Texas. Mize gets the ball against Rocker, and Detroit will look to carry over the same pitching-and-defense structure from Saturday’s shutout.
Follow me on "X" @rogcastbaseball
Continue reading...
