What is the story about?
Tigers
7, Rangers 1
- Detroit. Dee-Troit. D Troit.
- The Tigers.
- They won.
- Jack Leiter gave up 5 runs in 6.2 innings, which sounds bad.
- Which is bad, really.
- But he did pitch better than the line would indicate, to use that old cliche.
- Leiter allowed a total of six baserunners in the game. The problem is that five of them scored.
- Leiter walked just one batter — Riley Greene, to lead off the fifth. It was the first baserunner he allowed all game.
- The next batter, Spencer Torkelson, put an 0-2 hanging slider into the bleachers, and that, for all intents and purposes, was that.
- The Torkelson homer was the only ball in play over 100 mph that Leiter gave up in the game. Or any other Ranger pitcher, for that matter.
- In the sixth, Jake Rogers led off the inning with a ball to the outfield that should have been a single. Evan Carter tried to make a diving catch on it, however, and it got past him for a triple. Kevin McGonigle then hit a flare that fell in for a single to drive in the third run off of Leiter.
- Leiter had Kerry Carpenter on second with two outs in the seventh and got a ground ball from Hao-Yu Lee that snuck through the infield for an RBI hit. Leiter was then lifted for Tyler Alexander, who allowed a pair of singles and a double before the inning ended.
- So that was the five runs off of Leiter.
- He was still really good, though. 10 Ks on the game. 73 strikes on 100 pitches, including 16 swings and misses.
- If Leiter pitches like that regularly the Rangers will be in good shape.
- Gavin Collyer pitched the eighth and once again didn’t allow any runs. That’s nine games, and 7.1 innings, in Collyer’s major league career without a run being scored.
- The bats, meanwhile, were not good, despite the Tigers rolling with a bullpen game.
- The only run came off former Ranger Ricky Vanasco in the seventh, when an Ezequiel Duran double, a Josh Smith walk, a wild pitch, and a Kyle Higashioka ground out cut the lead to 3-1.
- Duran’s double was the only extra base hit the Rangers were able to muster.
- The team was 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. Both the hitlessness and only having five at bats with runners in scoring position are problems.
- Josh Smith was 2 for 3 with a walk, at least. That’s the offensive highlight for the Rangers.
- Jack Leiter topped out at 99.4 mph with his fastball, averaging 97.5 mph. Tyler Alexander touched 91.3 mph with his sinker. Gavin Collyer’s fastball maxed out at 97.9 mph.
- Jake Burger had a 108.7 mph ground out and a 101.9 mph fly out. Kyle Higashioka had a 105.9 mph ground out. Corey Seager had a 103.9 mph single. Andrew McCutchen had a 103.2 mph single. Ezequiel Duran had a 103.2 mph ground out. Brandon Nimmo had a 101.7 mph single. Josh Smith had a 101.6 mph single.
- On to New York to play the Yankees. Things will maybe be better there.
