Game thread: Tigers no-hit Blue Jays in 2-0 win
Detroit Tigers (38-49) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (49-40)
When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday; delayed due to inclement weather.
Where: Comerica Park in Detroit.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1 in Detroit; Tigers radio affiliates).
Probable pitchers: Tigers RHP Matt Manning (2-1, 4.84 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (7-4, 3.04).
Tigers lineup:
1. Zach McKinstry (3B)
2. Riley Greene (DH)
3. Spencer Torkelson (1B)
4. Kerry Carpenter (RF)
5. Matt Vierling (LF)
6. Javier Báez (SS)
7. Eric Haase (C)
8. Zack Short (2B)
9. Jake Marisnick (CF)
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Game notes: It’s the return of Riley Greene to the Tigers’ lineup for the first time since May 30. His reward: Facing Jays ace Kevin Gausman and his killer sinker. Then again, the sinker hasn’t been Gausman’s best pitch this season. After posting a minus-23 run value with it in 2021 and a minus-14 run value in 2022, Gausman is actually a plus-3 on the pitch this season. He’s making up for it, though — and this is bad news for the Tigers — with his four-seam fastball, which, with a minus-15 run value this season.
That’s the fifth-best pitch in the majors this season entering Friday, behind only the curveball of Atlanta’s Charlie Morton (-17), the four-seamer of New York’s Gerrit Cole (-16), the four-seamer of Arizona’s Zac Gallen (-16) and the sinker of Toronto’s Chris Bassitt (-16), who’s scheduled to start on Sunday.
So why is Gausman’s four-seamer bad news for the Tigers? Almost no team has hit the four-seamer worse than the Tigers in 2023 their .226 batting average is 34 points below the league average, 14 points behind the next-worst team (the St. Louis Cardinals) and just ahead of the Kansas City Royals (.222) and San Diego Padres (.219). Leading the charge for the Tigers — or should that be “leading the retreat” — is lefty Kerry Carpenter, who’s sporting a +6 run value and a .297 batting average on four-seamers. Right behind him is Akil Baddoo, who should be able to avenge his 0-for-4 Friday night with a +4 run value this season. Greene, meanwhile, was hitting .267 with a .433 slugging percentage off four-seamers, so perhaps he’ll get off to a hot start again.
After today’s matinee, the Jays and Tigers wrap up their season series on Sunday afternoon as lefty Tarik Skubal takes on Bassitt. After that, it’s the All-Star break, with right-hander Michael Lorenzen heading to Seattle for the Midsummer Classic, and the rest of the Tigers joining him there for a three-game series against the Mariners that begins on Friday. The Jays, meanwhile, open their second half at home against the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.
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Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Game thread: Tigers no-hit Blue Jays in 2-0 win
