Missed scoring opportunities cost Detroit Tigers in 2-1 loss to New York Yankees

It started with a single from Riley Greene.

But one run wasn't enough.

The Detroit Tigers didn't get any big opportunities on offense until the seventh inning, when Greene — one of the best position players in the American League — sparked the success by smacking a leadoff single into right field. Greene, whose 1.4 fWAR ranks fourth among AL outfielders, hit a splitter at the bottom of the strike zone from New York Yankees right-hander Marcus Stroman — one of three hits for the third-year outfielder.

But his teammates struggled at the plate throughout the night. Despite taking the lead in the seventh inning, the Tigers were haunted by missed opportunities in a 2-1 loss to the New York Yankees in Friday's opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees scored both runs in the bottom of the ninth off right-handed reliever Jason Foley, picking up the final run on Anthony Rizzo's walk-off single, the fourth consecutive hit of the inning.

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The Tigers (18-14) finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The pitching staff, led by right-hander Reese Olson's five scoreless innings, limited the Yankees to just two hits through eight innings.

But the Tigers were similarly stymied. After Greene's single in the seventh, Wenceel Pérez walked on five pitches and Kerry Carpenter walked on eight pitches to keep the pressure on the Yankees. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out for rookie Colt Keith, who battled for eight pitches — fouling off two pitches below the strike zone to stay alive — before drawing the third consecutive walk and scoring Greene for a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers chased Stroman but failed to put the nail in the coffin. Right-handed reliever Ian Hamilton, who replaced Stroman, struck out Spencer Torkelson on four pitches — putting him away with a down-and-away slider — and got Zach McKinstry to ground out to second base on a first-pitch fastball.

It was a missed opportunity for more runs.

Stroman allowed one run on three hits and five walks with three strikeouts across 5⅓ innings.

The Tigers also loaded the bases in the seventh inning with Jake Rogers (single), Greene (single) and Pérez (walk). Pérez walked on four pitches against left-handed reliever Victor González with two outs. Matt Vierling, a right-handed hitter, entered as a pinch-hitter for the left-handed Carpenter, but Vierling grounded into a force out to strand the runners.

It was another missed opportunity.

Greene finished 3-for-4 with one walk, boosting his batting average from .257 to .274 through 32 games this season. Torkelson, who hit out of the sixth spot in the lineup for the second game in a row, continues to struggle at the plate. He went hitless in four trips to the plate; his average fell to .212 in 30 games.

Alex Faedo and the bullpen

After Olson's five scoreless innings, the Tigers turned to right-handed reliever Alex Faedo to face the top three batters in the Yankees' lineup in the sixth inning. He struck out all three of them with his fastball.

Anthony Volpe struck out swinging on a middle-middle fastball; Juan Soto struck out swinging on a middle-middle fastball; Aaron Judge struck out looking on a down-and-away fastball.

Faedo opened the seventh inning by walking Alex Verdugo, but he bounced back by striking out Giancarlo Stanton looking on a down-and-in slider. Left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin took over for a matchup with the left-handed hitting Anthony Rizzo, only to walk Rizzo on six pitches.

Chafin, though, induced an inning-ending double play to maintain the Tigers' 1-0 lead.

Right-handed reliever Shelby Miller recorded back-to-back outs in the eighth inning. He walked Volpe, the Yankees' leadoff hitter, to bring up the ever-dangerous Soto, who popped out in a full count to end the threat.

In the ninth, Foley allowed four hits in a row: Judge (single), Verdugo (bunt single), Stanton (RBI double) and Rizzo (RBI single). Stanton hammered Foley's sinker to right field to tie the game; Rizzo got enough of Foley's changeup and put the ball past the drawn-in infield to win the game.

Reese Olson's solid start

Olson simply hasn't received enough run support this season.

That trend continued against the Yankees, but another trend continued, as well: The 24-year-old dominated on the mound to keep the game close despite not getting more than one run of support from the Tigers' offense.

He threw 88 pitches.

The Yankees tested Olson in the first inning with Volpe's single and Judge's walk. After Vople, Soto grounded into a double play on Olson's changeup below the strike zone. After Judge, Verdugo struck out swinging on Olson's fastball in the strike zone.

Olson cruised through the second, third, fourth and fifth innings.

He recorded seven whiffs on 36 swings — a 19.4% whiff rate — with two changeups, four sliders and one sinker. He generated a whopping 20 called strikes with seven fastballs, three changeups, four sliders and six sinkers.

Olson owns a 2.70 ERA in six starts.

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 muster just one run in loss to New York Yankees