Detroit Tigers play Opening Day-caliber lineup in final spring game in 3-3 tie vs. Rays
The Detroit Tigers tied the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-3, on Tuesday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, in the final game of spring training leading up to the 2024 regular season.
The Tigers finished 20-9-4 in Grapefruit League play.
What happened
The Tigers will face a left-handed pitcher in Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet on Opening Day, but Tuesday's lineup against the Rays included four left-handed hitters and looked like the first rendition of the regular lineup against right-handed pitchers.
The lineup: Parker Meadows, Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Mark Canha, Colt Keith, Gio Urshela, Javier Báez and Jake Rogers.
Greene is an everyday player, but the other three left-handed hitters — Meadows, Carpenter, Keith — might not start every game against left-handed pitchers, including Crochet, but they'll always start against right-handed pitchers.
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It's no surprise the Tigers used their best left-handed hitters in Tuesday's final spring training game against right-hander Ryan Pepiot, whom the Rays acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason as part of the Tyler Glasnow trade.
Pepiot dominated the Tigers.
He completed six scoreless innings on two hits and one walk with eight strikeouts, throwing 88 pitches. The two hits against him: Keith's single on a changeup in the second inning and Báez's double on a changeup in the third inning.
After Keith's two-out single, Urshela grounded out to end the inning; after Báez's leadoff double, Rogers struck out, Meadows flew out and Torkelson struck out to end the third inning.
Pepiot walked Rogers to begin the sixth inning, but then he sent down the next three batters, including Torkelson on another strikeout, to finish his outing. Only one batter, Báez in the third inning, advanced into scoring position.
He generated 11 whiffs, all with secondary pitches.
Starting off
Right-hander Casey Mize did his best to counter Pepiot's dominance, but the offense couldn't score any runs for him.
He retired eight of the first nine batters before Yandy Díaz demolished a hanging curveball for a 427-foot solo home run in the third inning. The homer from Díaz, an All-Star and Silver Slugger winner last season, put the Rays ahead, 1-0. He hit the ball with a 110.4 mph exit velocity.
Still, Mize struck out three batters in the third.
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After the homer, Mize retired the final seven batters he faced.
Mize allowed one run on two hits and zero walks with six strikeouts, throwing 55 of 71 pitches for strikes. He threw 33 fastballs, 21 sliders, 11 splitters and seven curveballs. Mize maintained his dominant fastball, but for the first time in spring training, he also showcased the best versions of his slider and splitter.
All six of his strikeouts: Brandon Lowe (swinging strike, 96 mph fastball), Isaac Paredes (swinging strike, 88 mph slider), José Caballero (called strike, 96 mph fastball), Alex Jackson (foul tip, 96 mph fastball), Lowe (swinging strike, 87 mph splitter) and Caballero (swinging strike, 95 mph fastball).
Mize generated 13 whiffs (on 43 swings) with five fastballs, four sliders and four splitters.
His fastball averaged 95 mph.
At the plate
The Tigers didn't score until the replacement players took over for the starters.
Right-handed reliever Jake Ordorizzi recorded back-to-back outs in the eighth inning, taking down Andy Ibáñez and Zach McKinstry, but he crumbled just one out away from finishing the inning. Prospect Hao-Yu Lee walked, Matt Vierling walked and Chris Meyers — a left-handed hitting first baseman from minor-league camp — blasted a three-run home run.
The homer for Meyers, coming against Odorizzi's fastball in a two-strike zone, put the Tigers in front, 3-2, in the eighth inning. The 24-year-old, a former 13th-round pick, crushed the up-and-away heater with a 108.5 mph exit velocity.
The ball traveled 424 feet to center field.
On the mound
Right-handed reliever Shelby Miller replaced Mize for the sixth inning.
He retired the first two batters, but the Rays took a 2-0 advantage on Lowe's solo home run with two outs in the sixth. He turned on an inside cutter, impacted the ball with a 109.7 mph exit velocity and pulled it 407 feet to right field.
It was Tampa Bay's second homer of the game.
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Right-handed reliever Jason Foley replaced Miller with two outs and finished the sixth inning. Left-handed reliever Tyler Holton got the first two outs in the seventh inning, as well.
Miller threw 16 pitches; Foley threw five pitches; and Holton threw 12 pitches.
Right-handed reliever Brendan White, who suffered elbow discomfort at the beginning of spring training, appeared in his first spring training game in the eighth inning. He hit the first batter, allowed back-to-back stolen bases, walked the second batter and then threw a wild pitch.
The wild pitch allowed the first batter to scamper home from third base, tying the game at three runs. The game ended in a tie, 3-3, after the Tigers and Rays failed to score in the ninth inning.
Three stars
1. Mize, 2. Foley, 3. Meyers.
Next up
Opening Day on Thursday (4:10 p.m.) vs. Chicago White Sox in Chicago.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Opening Day-caliber lineup stymied in spring finale
