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Should you worry about Kerry Carpenter?
The Detroit Tigers received home runs from Kevin McGonigle and Riley Greene on Sunday afternoon, but there was almost nothing offensively between those two swings.
McGonigle opened the game with his ninth home run of the season, while Greene pulled Detroit within a run with his 14th in the ninth inning. The rest of the lineup produced only two hits as the Tigers fell to the Los Angeles Angels, 3-2, in the series finale at Angel Stadium.
Detroit still leaves Anaheim with a series victory after winning Friday’s opener, 2-1, and Saturday’s game, 7-0. The Tigers are now 46-53 and have won 24 of their 39 games since the beginning of June. Sunday’s defeat was only their fourth loss in the last 15 games.
McGonigle continued his strong rookie season by driving a Ryan Johnson fastball over the wall in left-center field to begin the afternoon. It was his second leadoff home run in three games after he also helped set the tone during Saturday’s victory.
The early lead did not last long.
Vaughn Grissom opened the bottom of the second with a double and advanced to third on Josh Lowe’s sacrifice bunt. Oswald Peraza followed with an infield single that scored Grissom and tied the game.
Casey Mize kept the score even despite dealing with traffic throughout his outing. He struck out Zach Neto with two runners aboard to end the second and then retired Grissom and Lowe with runners at the corners in the third.
Mize’s afternoon ended abruptly in the fourth inning when Jo Adell hit a 108.8 mph ground ball back through the middle. Mize deflected the ball, recovered and completed the play at first base before leaving with a member of the Tigers’ training staff.
According to manager A.J. Hinch, the concern shifted from Mize’s left wrist to groin tightness that had been bothering him before the comebacker. Mize previously missed time with a right adductor strain, although he described Sunday’s exit as precautionary. He allowed one run on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts over 3⅓ innings and 74 pitches.
Drew Anderson replaced Mize and worked out of the fourth, but three consecutive Angels reached to open the fifth. Walks to Neto and Mike Trout were followed by Nolan Schanuel’s third hit of the game. Jorge Soler’s groundout brought home Neto and gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.
The Tigers had their best opportunity to answer in the top of the fifth. James Outman singled, Jake Rogers walked and McGonigle drew another walk to load the bases with two outs. Johnson escaped by striking out Dillon Dingler.
Los Angeles added a run in the sixth after Peraza singled, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout. Neto then brought him home with a single to right.
Greene’s ninth-inning home run off Ryan Zeferjahn gave Detroit another chance, but Spencer Torkelson popped out before Kerry Carpenter and Hao-Yu Lee were retired to end the game.
Carpenter went 0-for-4 Sunday, flying out twice while also recording a popout and a groundout. He did not strike out, but he was unable to drive the baseball with authority or give the Tigers the extra-base threat they needed in the middle of the lineup.
Carpenter is now 3-for-30 in July with two walks, 11 strikeouts and no extra-base hits. His slash line for the month has dropped to .100/.182/.100, and he has yet to record a home run or an RBI.
The larger sample since June 1 is more complicated. Carpenter has seven home runs and 19 RBIs over 37 games, but he is batting .210 with a .276 on-base percentage. Most of the damage came during June, when he posted seven home runs and a .573 slugging percentage. His production has disappeared since the calendar turned to July.
Carpenter’s overall season line is now .225/.301/.465. The slugging percentage remains respectable because of the home-run production, but the Tigers need more consistent contact from one of their primary left-handed power hitters.
His struggles have been easier to work around while McGonigle, Greene, Torkelson, Dingler and others have contributed but in order for the Tigers to get to the postseason, they need his power back.
The Tigers still accomplished what they needed to accomplish in Anaheim.
Lee’s two-run double with two outs in the ninth gave Detroit a comeback win Friday. Tarik Skubal followed with seven scoreless innings Saturday while Torkelson hit two home runs in the 7-0 victory. Detroit missed an opportunity to complete the sweep Sunday, but winning another road series keeps the momentum from the past six weeks intact.
The schedule becomes more challenging Monday when the Tigers begin a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Jack Flaherty is scheduled to start the opener against Jameson Taillon. Flaherty enters with a 3-8 record, 4.48 ERA and 98 strikeouts. Taillon, who is expected to return from the injured list, is 2-5 with a 5.19 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET. The Cubs enter the series at 56-43 after taking two of three from Minnesota.
Detroit will need a cleaner offensive performance than the one it produced Sunday. The Tigers can leave Anaheim satisfied with the series result, but four hits and one sustained scoring opportunity will make it difficult to win against a Cubs club currently positioned in the National League playoff race.
Follow me on "X" @rogcastbaseball
Continue reading...
The Detroit Tigers received home runs from Kevin McGonigle and Riley Greene on Sunday afternoon, but there was almost nothing offensively between those two swings.
McGonigle opened the game with his ninth home run of the season, while Greene pulled Detroit within a run with his 14th in the ninth inning. The rest of the lineup produced only two hits as the Tigers fell to the Los Angeles Angels, 3-2, in the series finale at Angel Stadium.
Detroit still leaves Anaheim with a series victory after winning Friday’s opener, 2-1, and Saturday’s game, 7-0. The Tigers are now 46-53 and have won 24 of their 39 games since the beginning of June. Sunday’s defeat was only their fourth loss in the last 15 games.
McGonigle continued his strong rookie season by driving a Ryan Johnson fastball over the wall in left-center field to begin the afternoon. It was his second leadoff home run in three games after he also helped set the tone during Saturday’s victory.
The early lead did not last long.
Vaughn Grissom opened the bottom of the second with a double and advanced to third on Josh Lowe’s sacrifice bunt. Oswald Peraza followed with an infield single that scored Grissom and tied the game.
Casey Mize kept the score even despite dealing with traffic throughout his outing. He struck out Zach Neto with two runners aboard to end the second and then retired Grissom and Lowe with runners at the corners in the third.
Mize’s afternoon ended abruptly in the fourth inning when Jo Adell hit a 108.8 mph ground ball back through the middle. Mize deflected the ball, recovered and completed the play at first base before leaving with a member of the Tigers’ training staff.
According to manager A.J. Hinch, the concern shifted from Mize’s left wrist to groin tightness that had been bothering him before the comebacker. Mize previously missed time with a right adductor strain, although he described Sunday’s exit as precautionary. He allowed one run on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts over 3⅓ innings and 74 pitches.
Drew Anderson replaced Mize and worked out of the fourth, but three consecutive Angels reached to open the fifth. Walks to Neto and Mike Trout were followed by Nolan Schanuel’s third hit of the game. Jorge Soler’s groundout brought home Neto and gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.
The Tigers had their best opportunity to answer in the top of the fifth. James Outman singled, Jake Rogers walked and McGonigle drew another walk to load the bases with two outs. Johnson escaped by striking out Dillon Dingler.
Los Angeles added a run in the sixth after Peraza singled, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout. Neto then brought him home with a single to right.
Greene’s ninth-inning home run off Ryan Zeferjahn gave Detroit another chance, but Spencer Torkelson popped out before Kerry Carpenter and Hao-Yu Lee were retired to end the game.
Kerry Carpenter’s July struggles continue
Carpenter went 0-for-4 Sunday, flying out twice while also recording a popout and a groundout. He did not strike out, but he was unable to drive the baseball with authority or give the Tigers the extra-base threat they needed in the middle of the lineup.
Carpenter is now 3-for-30 in July with two walks, 11 strikeouts and no extra-base hits. His slash line for the month has dropped to .100/.182/.100, and he has yet to record a home run or an RBI.
The larger sample since June 1 is more complicated. Carpenter has seven home runs and 19 RBIs over 37 games, but he is batting .210 with a .276 on-base percentage. Most of the damage came during June, when he posted seven home runs and a .573 slugging percentage. His production has disappeared since the calendar turned to July.
Carpenter’s overall season line is now .225/.301/.465. The slugging percentage remains respectable because of the home-run production, but the Tigers need more consistent contact from one of their primary left-handed power hitters.
His struggles have been easier to work around while McGonigle, Greene, Torkelson, Dingler and others have contributed but in order for the Tigers to get to the postseason, they need his power back.
Tigers head to Wrigley Field
The Tigers still accomplished what they needed to accomplish in Anaheim.
Lee’s two-run double with two outs in the ninth gave Detroit a comeback win Friday. Tarik Skubal followed with seven scoreless innings Saturday while Torkelson hit two home runs in the 7-0 victory. Detroit missed an opportunity to complete the sweep Sunday, but winning another road series keeps the momentum from the past six weeks intact.
The schedule becomes more challenging Monday when the Tigers begin a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Jack Flaherty is scheduled to start the opener against Jameson Taillon. Flaherty enters with a 3-8 record, 4.48 ERA and 98 strikeouts. Taillon, who is expected to return from the injured list, is 2-5 with a 5.19 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET. The Cubs enter the series at 56-43 after taking two of three from Minnesota.
Detroit will need a cleaner offensive performance than the one it produced Sunday. The Tigers can leave Anaheim satisfied with the series result, but four hits and one sustained scoring opportunity will make it difficult to win against a Cubs club currently positioned in the National League playoff race.
Follow me on "X" @rogcastbaseball
Continue reading...
