Clark's 12-pitch at-bat becomes pivotal in Tigers' loss

DETROIT – The first look some fans got of then-prospect Max Clark in Spring Training was at Spring Breakout, when he saw a 102 mph fastball from Pirates prospect Seth Hernandez on the game’s first pitch. The wide-eyed reaction from Clark went viral.

Fast forward 4 1/2 months to Wednesday, and Clark had a different reaction to Cade Smith’s first-pitch 100 mph fastball: He fouled it off, looked out and dug in.

The battle was on.

For 12 pitches and over four minutes, the Guardians’ All-Star closer and the Tigers’ rookie center fielder dueled, the latter as the potential tying run in the eighth inning.

Smith won the battle, sending Detroit on its way to a 6-4 loss. But even in defeat, the at-bat became a snapshot of the fight the Tigers have brought to their late-summer surge, and the way Clark has attacked his learning curve in the big leagues. By the time Smith retired Kevin McGonigle in the ninth, he’d thrown a career-high 38 pitches for the final four outs.

“They made him work,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Tip your cap to them. Great at-bats.”

It was a tax the Tigers hope sets up a victory in Thursday’s series finale with a chance to win the series. It was also a statement for Clark, already one of the toughest outs in the Tigers lineup.

“Ironically, Max and I talked about Cade Smith in center field today during [batting practice], just because he walked by,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s nice to see him control himself in that moment. If you overswing, you’re going to punch [out]. If you get too far out in front of yourself because of your emotions, you’re going to chase. There’s just a lot to like in that at-bat.”

Smith embodied a trend Clark saw coming in May, two months before his MLB debut, when he was still finding his footing at Triple-A Toledo. His improvement against fastballs helped set the stage for his call-up on July 31, and his hot start on the Tigers’ West Coast trip. But as he pointed out, preparing for Smith is different. It’s why Vogt turned to his closer for a four-out save on a mid-August night.

“I would classify Cade as an entirely different heater than everyone else,” Clark said. “It's probably the fastball, him and probably [Jacob Misiorowski]. My approach was almost, 'swing when it leaves his hand.'"

That balance became tougher on the second pitch, a 99 mph fastball around the upper outside corner that drew a called strike from plate umpire John Libka and put Clark in an 0-2 count. Smith had struck out 27 of the previous 48 batters who’d fallen down 0-2 to him this season.

Clark fouled off Smith’s next pitch, 98 mph in nearly the same spot as strike two. The reaction prompted Smith and catcher Austin Hedges to turn to the splitter, a pitch Smith buried in the dirt but bounced past Hedges. Kevin McGonigle initially retreated to third base, then broke home when Hedges couldn’t find the ball.

After Clark fouled off Smith’s 100 mph heater, again at the upper corner, Smith went back to the splitter but left it up in the zone. Clark fouled it off and winced in frustration.

“I thought the AB was over when I missed a splitter that he hung, kind of fouled it straight into the ground,” Clark said. “Should've hit that one. And he left a heater up in the middle that I fouled straight back.”

That fastball was on pitch eight at 99.3 mph, just after Clark started at another 100 mph heater off the plate.

Clark fouled off back-to-back splitters on pitches nine and 10, barely scraping the top of the ball on one, then hitting the other off his body.

“The maturity is not overswinging,” Hinch said. “It’s not letting the at-bat get too big. And I love his awareness of the big moment and overcoming the instinct to try to end it.”

Smith went back to the outside corner at 98 mph on pitch 11, and Clark fouled that off, too.

“As the AB went on, I definitely saw the heater better,” Clark said.

Smith’s hardest fastball of the at-bat was his last, 101 mph on the corner. Clark saw it, but couldn’t catch up.

“There's a reason he's a top closer in baseball,” Clark said. “But at the same time, you just have to find a way to do the job. I feel like I left something out there. But I'm glad to extend the AB 12 pitches, and hopefully he's down tomorrow and we can get a series win.”