Who wants a knuckle sandwich? Rogers registers 1st career K in style 

DETROIT -- There’s an unwritten rule for position players who pitch in a loss, at least in the Tigers' clubhouse: They very rarely talk after the game, no matter how they perform. It’s nothing personal, just a manifestation of what is often literally a thankless role. If they’re pitching, it almost always means the Tigers are down big, as they were on Tuesday after an onslaught of Brewers runs all Tuesday night.

Still, as Jake Rogers’ knuckleball fluttered toward the plate and sent Joey Ortiz swinging at air, to the delight of what remained of the crowd at Comerica Park, it was obvious this meant more than Detroit getting the first out of the ninth inning. Catcher Dillon Dingler pointed out to his catching compatriot on the mound, then raised his hand to get a new ball from plate umpire Emil Jimenez. He tucked away the ball from the strikeout to give to Rogers, who had signaled for the ball.

Rogers’ scoreless ninth inning was his sixth career appearance on the mound. Ortiz was his first Major League strikeout as a pitcher. Rogers politely declined an interview request after Tuesday’s 12-4 loss, staying true to the clubhouse code, but it clearly meant something more than one of the Tigers’ few bright spots in a dreary performance.

“I am glad that we got a little bit of positive energy out of Jake pitching, and then get a couple runs,” manager A.J. Hinch said.

It wasn’t quite like former Tiger Kody Clemens getting a called third strike on then-Angel Shohei Ohtani for his first strikeout in 2022, but Rogers fanned a big league hitter. And he did it with his project pitch.

Rogers has tinkered with a knuckleball for years, but he didn’t feel comfortable unleashing it in games until he made repeated appearances last season. Most position players pitching enter with instructions to throw easy fastballs or float the ball in so as not to strain the arm. And a fluttering knuckleball can drive a catcher crazy, which is why full-time knuckleball pitchers like Tigers Minor Leaguer Kenny Serwa often require a larger mitt for catchers. But Rogers put in the side work last summer to make his knuckleball a presentable pitch.

“That's like the first pitch I ever [threw],” Rogers explained last June. “Literally, my dad, when I was like 10 years old, was like, 'Hey, throw this.' So I've been throwing a knuckleball forever. Who knows if it's good or not? I mean, it's good in catch-play, but when you get up there [on the mound], it's different. …

“I've always been kinda wanting to [throw it in a game], but obviously it's not a ... it's fun for me to be up there and enjoy it, but a lot of times it's when we're getting our butts kicked, so it's not a great time to be joking around. But I've always wanted to throw it.”

Rogers finally felt comfortable enough to unveil it in a game a month later, though he didn’t get a swing-and-miss on it.

“It’s good, yeah,” Dingler said after Rogers threw a few during a scoreless inning against the Blue Jays last July. “Don’t tell him that, though. He might start trying to throw it all the time.”

He has not. Rogers’ 2-2 pitch to Ortiz was the only knuckleball he threw on Tuesday. Rogers wasn’t locating his eephus, and Ortiz had just fouled off a 75 mph fastball, so he and Dingler went to his third pitch. Ortiz swung over it as it fluttered.

Love spin rates? Rogers’ strikeout pitch came in at 128 rpm, according to Statcast.

Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty, three pitchers used to throwing to Rogers, were trying to keep a straight face in the dugout.

Rogers got a popout from Luis Matos on his next pitch, a 53 mph eephus that Dingler camped under. Back-to-back ground-ball singles extended the inning for Brice Turang, but Rogers used back-to-back eephus pitches to set up a 79 mph heater. Turang hit a 101.9 mph liner, but at left fielder Riley Greene for the final out.

Rogers’ teammates, much like him, were trying to balance the emotions.

“It was pretty cool,” Kevin McGonigle said. “Of course, it stinks that it had to happen.”