There was plenty of drama during the first game of the Arizona-Detroit series on Monday night, though it had little to do with the outcome. The Tigers and Diamondbacks will play the second game of the three-game series on Tuesday evening in Detroit.
The Diamondbacks and the many trade suitors for Eugenio Suarez got a huge scare in the ninth inning when the slugging third baseman was hit in the hand by a Will Vest pitch. Suarez said afterward that X-rays on his index finger were negative. He planned to have more tests on Tuesday.
“Right now, it’s painful, obviously. The good news is the X-ray was negative,” he said postgame. “We’ll see (Tuesday) what else they’re going to do. Right now, I will do my best to try to be back soon.”
The Tigers are one of many teams reportedly interested in the services of Suarez, who is among the top five in the majors with 36 homers.
Detroit won the series opener 5-1 and will seek a third straight victory following a six-game slide.
The Tigers’ roster is in flux.
Outfielder Kerry Carpenter was activated from the injured list on Sunday. The team learned on Monday that starting pitcher Reese Olson would miss at least the remainder of the regular season with a shoulder injury, so the Tigers acquired Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins to replace him.
Detroit also placed outfielder Parker Meadows on the IL with a quad issue. Andy Ibanez, who was recalled from Triple-A Toledo, gave the offense a spark with a double and solo homer Monday night.
“I told (Ibanez) before the game, don’t try to make up for lost time in one game,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “So if that’s his way of just settling in — bam, double, homer. I know it means a lot to him. It crushed him to be sent down. But he went down, did his work and waited for the next opportunity.”
American League All-Star Casey Mize (9-4, 3.40 ERA), who is scheduled to start for the Tigers on Tuesday, has gotten roughed up in his past two starts. The right-hander allowed six runs in three innings to the Seattle Mariners just before the break, then yielded five runs (four earned) and 10 hits in four innings at Pittsburgh last Tuesday in an 8-5 loss.
“I just look at myself and what I can do better,” Mize said. “I think the role of the starting pitcher is so important, just setting the tone for the game and not having those guys on the field for too long.”
Mize, who will face the Diamondbacks for the first time, originally was scheduled to pitch on Monday. He was given an extra day of rest after experiencing some minor knee tightness.
Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (10-6, 4.76 ERA), Mize’s mound opponent, has delivered three straight solid starts. He held the San Diego Padres to two runs in eight innings on July 9. In his first outing after the All-Star break, Pfaadt tossed seven scoreless innings against St. Louis.
In his latest start, he was charged with two runs in 5 1/3 innings in his team’s 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Pfaadt didn’t give up a run in the first five innings but was pulled shortly after allowing back-to-back doubles in the sixth.
“Ran into some trouble in the sixth, and (it) came back to bite us,” said Pfaadt, who will face the Tigers for the first time in his career. “That’s what’s most disappointing.”
–Field Level Media
