Detroit Tigers walk 14, hit five more, in 22-10 loss to Yankees in Grapefruit League opener

LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers lost to the New York Yankees, 22-10, on Saturday at Joker Marchant Stadium in the first game of the 2024 Grapefruit League schedule in spring training.

There were 9,696 fans in attendance.

The game lasted 3 hours, 47 minutes.

"In spring, it's hard to talk about big topics," manager A.J. Hinch said. "It's a lot about individuals, right? We didn't get in good counts early, and then we threw a lot of middle-middle pitches in the middle of the game, and then we made some mistakes, used 10 pitchers, four of them from the other side (minor-league camp). Clearly, an ugly day. You try to take some good out of it with certain guys and also some things to address with some other guys."

What happened

Andy Ibáñez was responsible for the first spring training runs scored by the Tigers. He swung at a hanging slider from right-handed starter Luis Gil in the second inning, and moments later, he was jogging around the bases.

Ibáñez, one of several potential options at third base on the roster, launched a two-run home run to put the Tigers on the scoreboard. The ball traveled 403 feet to left field.

Second baseman Colt Keith, a top prospect who signed a long-term contract extension at the end of January, two months before his forthcoming MLB debut, finished 1-for-3 with one double and two strikeouts. His double to left field in the fifth inning drove in the next two runs.

The Tigers cut their deficit to 9-6 with a two-run sixth inning, but with the bases loaded, prospect Justice Bigbie flew out to shallow center field to squander the opportunity for more runs.

The Yankees made it 22-6 with eight runs in the ninth inning, but the Tigers clawed four runs back with a rally started by a pair of hit-by-pitches and a walk. Eddys Leonard, picked up in a trade deadline deal from the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, drove in the final two runs with a two-out, bases-loaded double to finish 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Ten Tigers pitchers walked 14 batters and hit five batters, along with surrendering 15 hits. The 10 pitchers recorded just seven strikeouts. Five of the 22 runs were unearned.

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Saturday's highlight came when Yankees center fielder Spencer Jones, a top prospect, hammered a down-and-in slider from right-handed reliever Mason Englert for a 470-foot home run to right-center. The ball carried with some help from the wind and landed at the back of the concourse beyond the outfield.

Jones finished 3-for-3 with four RBIs.

Starting off

Right-hander Reese Olson wasn't sharp in his first start of spring training. Not only did he walk three batters without a strikeout, he hit Ben Rortvedt with a fastball in the first inning.

He issued four free passes.

"I was trying to accomplish being in the zone early in counts and not getting beat in the counts," Olson said, "and I wasn't able to do either of those today. I can only go up from here. It was the same miss pattern, so it's a little thing to clean up. I'm not really worried about it."

Back-to-back walks to start the second inning doomed Olson, even though shortstop Ryan Kreidler saved him from additional damage. Kreidler received a hard-hit ground ball off the bat of Anthony Volpe and threw home to catcher Jake Rogers, who tagged out Oscar Gonzalez.

It was the final play of Olson's start.

"He's incredible," Hinch said of Kreidler's defense. "He makes plays. I want the ball hit to him every single time."

The next batter, Trent Grisham, blasted a three-run home run off left-handed reliever Jake Higginbotham's curveball. The homer put the Yankees ahead, 3-0.

Olson allowed two runs on one hit, three walks and one hit-by-pitch, throwing 16 of 39 pitches for strikes. He generated two whiffs and five called strikes.

His fastball sat around 95 mph.

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At the plate

All eyes were on Keith.

The 22-year-old struck out in the first inning when he swung and missed at three consecutive in-zone high-velocity fastballs from Gil. He also struck out in the third inning when he battled for nine pitches before whiffing at an 88 mph cutter from left-handed reliever Nick Ramirez.

In the fifth inning, Keith fell behind 0-2 in the count against right-hander Clayton Beeter, a prospect. He worked back into the count by taking three consecutive balls. Keith then hit the sixth pitch, a down-and-away slider, to left field for a double. The double from Keith drove in two runs, cutting the deficit to 9-4, but Justyn-Henry Malloy was thrown out at home to end the fifth.

"We were in the at-bats and fought pretty hard," Hinch said. "It's good for these guys to face a little bit of adversity, a little bit of first-time jitters, so to speak. Colt is going to be just fine."

Malloy, another prospect who could make his MLB debut this season, finished 0-for-2 with one walk and one strikeout.

In last year's spring training, Malloy hit .308 (4-for-13) with one walk and seven strikeouts across 10 games. This year, he is competing for the final spot on the roster.

Fellow prospect Jace Jung, who has been informed he won't make the roster, transitioned from second base to third base in the Arizona Fall League after last season. He entered at third in the fifth inning and drew a walk in his first plate appearance. He drove in the Tigers' eighth run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth.

On the mound

The Tigers didn't record a strikeout until Englert struck out Jeter downs to finish the fifth inning. The first four pitchers — Olson, Higginbotham, right-hander Miguel Díaz and right-hander Blair Calvo — failed to record a strikeout.

Díaz and Englert surrendered three runs apiece.

The Tigers trailed, 9-2, after five innings.

Left-hander Brant Hurter, a prospect who logged a 3.28 ERA in 26 starts with Double-A Erie last season, looked sharp in the sixth and seventh innings, but in the seventh, he had to work out of a jam.

He induced a weak ground ball after two strikeouts, but a throwing error by second baseman Wenceel Pérez extended the inning. Hurter hit the next batter, then walked in the Yankees' 10th run.

The walk sparked a mound visit from pitching coach Chris Fetter. After that, Hurter struck out Jose Rojas to end his two-inning appearance with three strikeouts.

"The walk will be something that he'll learn from," Hinch said, "but he was one of the first to pound the strike zone right away and get the ball on the ground quickly."

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Another error from Pérez hurt the Tigers with right-handed reliever Devin Sweet on the mound in the eighth inning. The Yankees scored four unearned runs for a 14-6 advantage.

Three stars

1. Ibáñez, 2. Hurter, 3. Keith.

Next up

Sunday vs. Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte.

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 wild in 22-10 loss to New York Yankees to open spring