Casey Mize pitched well enough during his first 15 starts to be named an American League All-Star. The Detroit Tigers right-hander will be looking to regain that form when he starts against the visiting Minnesota Twins on Monday night.
Mize (9-4, 3.43 ERA) is coming off three subpar outings. He gave up six runs in three innings against the Seattle Mariners just prior to the All-Star break, then allowed five runs (four earned) and 10 hits in four innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 22.
He didn’t get very far on Tuesday, as manager A.J. Hinch pulled him after 1 2/3 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mize permitted two runs (one earned) and three hits while walking three, striking out two and throwing 59 pitches.
“That’s three in a row that weren’t good at all,” Mize said. “(Against Arizona), just not near enough strikes. I’m in a bit of a funk right now that I am going to work really hard to get out of.”
Hinch said, “The concern was the (nearly) 60 pitches in less than two innings. He just couldn’t get a feel for the strike zone. I know his routine was disrupted (by a minor knee injury), but I looked at the numbers on the board and the power was there. That told me all I needed to know about his well-being.
“It was the lack of strikes and the long at-bats and the three walks in a short stint. He didn’t have it (Tuesday).”
Mize is 2-4 with a 4.91 ERA in nine career starts against the Twins. He is 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA in two starts against them this season.
Minnesota hadn’t listed a starter for the Monday game. On Sunday, the Twins recorded their first victory since their trade-deadline fire sale, edging the Cleveland Guardians 5-4.
The Twins scored four runs in the first inning, including a two-run single from Trevor Larnach, and held off the Guardians’ late charge.
“There is no other choice but to put your head down, work and move on,” Larnach said, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I thought we’ve done a good job doing that.”
Minnesota outfielder Austin Martin led off the game with a single and scored the first run. He was one of eight players called up from Triple-A Saint Paul on Friday following the front office’s flurry of trades.
“Our guys battled real good today,” manager Rocco Baldelli said after the Sunday contest. “Came out swinging, it was great to start a game like that. It’s a great way to kind of set the tempo. …
“I was very, very pleased and proud of the way that our guys handled this entire series, but especially today. We played with grit in this getaway day.”
Detroit leads the season series against Minnesota 4-2. The game on Monday begins a three-game series. The teams will face off four more games in Minneapolis later this month.
The Tigers are coming off a 2-0 loss to the host Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday night. Detroit had won five of its previous six games prior to the shutout defeat.