DETROIT -- Casey Mize wasn’t exactly looking for feedback from hitters on his pitches in his return from the injured list; that’s more for live batting practice against teammates. The box score doesn’t include a comments section. Still, the many faces and reactions from Blue Jays outfielder Jesús Sánchez provided what looked like high praise.
Mize’s splitter on a 1-2 pitch in the second inning had Sánchez lunging out front to foul it off and keep his at-bat alive, bringing an emphatic nod from Sánchez back at Mize on the mound.
The slider on Mize’s next pitch brought a similar result but a different face from Sánchez after fouling it off.
Another splitter, another foul ball, this time off the end of his bat, and another reaction, a face like Sánchez had just seen something disgusting.
Finally, as Mize went back to the splitter and delivered maybe his best pitch of the afternoon to put Sánchez away and end the inning, Sánchez gave a nod of respect as he walked back to the dugout.
“Yeah, he's one to react to a lot of different pitches in a lot of different ways,” Mize said. “So I don't know if I interpret that as he sees it well or doesn't see it at all. I don't know, the swing and miss is the reaction I like the most. …
“It makes the success feel pretty good, yeah. I'll just say that. He's always doing that kind of stuff, having a good time out there.”
Mize could care less about the facial reactions. The swing decisions and reactions tell him what he needs to know. And while the Tigers’ postgame reactions were understandably understated after a 2-1 loss that seemed eminently winnable, Mize’s six scoreless, efficient innings gave them a positive to take away from a frustrating afternoon.
Getting a healthy starter back to fill a slot that had been taken up by bullpen games in Mize’s absence is a step in the right direction in itself for a rotation that has been decimated by injuries. Getting an effective Mize back, the starter that had been putting together another stellar stretch before being sidelined by a right adductor strain a couple weeks ago, is big.
The more scoreless innings Mize posts, the more he keeps a scuffling Tigers offense within striking distance, turning what could have been a runaway loss into an extra-innings battle. The more innings Mize delivers, the more manager A.J. Hinch can save his bullpen for big situations. The long arms that kept the Tigers in Friday’s game before their walk-off victory didn’t have to get up Saturday.
“Obviously we have a lot of guys on the IL,” catcher Jake Rogers said. “Having Ty [Madden] get hit with a comebacker [Friday] and kinda using the bullpen a lot when we didn’t really think we were going to, obviously today was huge. And [Mize] just absolutely munching innings today was huge.
“It’s huge to have him back. He’s a big presence on this staff and a really good right-handed arm for us. So, yeah, really big.”
Mize looked strong enough in his side sessions and in a simulated game against hitters that the Tigers, desperately needing healthy starters, brought him back without a rehab assignment. And Mize essentially picked up where he left off, unleashing a near-equal mix of fastballs, sliders and splitters that left Blue Jays hitters off balance. He allowed just two hits, one of them a first-inning infield single by Yohendrick Piñango, whom he subsequently erased on a double play.
“I thought he pitched tremendously coming off the injured list, getting right back into the competitive game,” Hinch said. “I thought he held his stuff. I thought he had great tempo. He got some swing and miss, he got some soft contact, everything that you would want out of a normal start.”
Mize actually gave them more. Given the quick return, Hinch was counting on five innings out of the righty. Mize needed just 71 pitches to blank Toronto over six innings, striking out four and facing one batter over the minimum. Instead of working long pitch counts trying to finish off hitters, Mize used the Jays’ aggressiveness against them.
“They don't strike out a lot, they don't walk a lot, they're going to put the ball in play,” Mize said. “So just knowing that, there's no need for long counts to try to get 10 strikeouts today. And I don't think you're going to walk anybody, honestly, just because of their approaches top to bottom. So I think it just kinda played out that way. We tried to get into the zone early just to play into their game plan, hopefully in our favor, and fortunately it worked out.”