ATLANTA -- What initially looked like a routine defensive play turned into an early exit for Casey Mize and a concerning moment for the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.
In the bottom of the third inning, Mize had already surrendered an RBI double to Ronald Acuña Jr., giving the Braves a 1-0 lead. Moments later, Drake Baldwin stepped in and made weak contact on an 86.1 mph splitter, sending a slow chopper up the first-base line.
Mize quickly came off the mound to field it to first. While the play itself didn’t immediately signal anything unusual, Mize’s reaction did. The right-hander looked to be in discomfort after the throw, prompting a visit from the Tigers’ training staff.
Following a brief conversation on the mound, Detroit made the decision to remove Mize from the game with what was later diagnosed with right groin tightness. Left-hander Brant Hurter was called in from the bullpen.
Hurter allowed a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing Acuña home to extend Atlanta’s lead to 2-0.
Mize’s final line underscored a short and interrupted outing: 2 1/3 innings pitched, three hits allowed, two runs, one walk and three strikeouts on 34 pitches.
In the top of the fifth inning, center fielder Javier Báez also exited the game early after he appeared to injure his right ankle while running to first base on a grounder to shortstop. After he was tended to by Detroit's training staff, Báez was carted off the field.