LAKELAND, Fla. -- Josh Harrison's first play as a Tiger was an uncharacteristic miscue that cost Michael Fulmer a potential inning-ending double play. Harrison stepped on second base for the forceout, but threw well wide of first, extending the first inning, which ultimately resulted in four runs charged to Fulmer.
“Gotta shake all the cobwebs out,” Harrison said. “I mean, I need to make that play, but thankfully it’s the first game of spring for me. By the time I’m ready to go, that won’t happen.”
Harrison’s first at-bat in a Detroit uniform, by contrast, looked much more like his game. After working a full count, fouling off a 3-2 pitch and drawing a leadoff walk, he went from first base to third on a ground-ball single through the middle before scoring on a Nicholas Castellanos double.
In his second at-bat in as many innings, Harrison hit an 0-2 pitch behind first base for a bloop single between two defenders.
An inning later, he was again batting -- this time with the bases loaded -- and worked a run-scoring walk, helping the Tigers pull away from the Yankees for a 10-4 win in six innings.
Until Wednesday, the only live pitching he had seen since last season was a handful of pitches from Tigers lefty reliever Daniel Stumpf.
“Game action is good,” Harrison said. “To see as many pitches as I did today was definitely beneficial for me.”
To see these at-bats from Harrison was also a benefit for manager Ron Gardenhire, who has a batting order to put together. The lineup card he posted Wednesday -- with Harrison at the top, Christin Stewart second, then Castellanos and Miguel Cabrera -- could be a preview for Opening Day.
“Yeah, we put a lot of the guys out there that we talked about,” Gardenhire said. “It could be. It depends on what the analytics department says.”
Harrison is the only Tiger with much experience batting leadoff. He has 262 starts there over his career, including 41 last season. He has a career .296 average and .332 on-base percentage from that top spot, though he’s a .262 hitter with a .301 on-base rate when leading off an inning.
“It’s not easy; some guys don’t like it,” Harrison said. “But I think it’s a spot that I thrive in. I like bringing energy to the team and letting them build off of whatever I see from a pitcher.”
Mize-rly performance
When Spring Training began a couple weeks ago, Casey Mize talked about what it would mean to face Major League hitters as part of the honor of being in big league camp with the Tigers for his first full pro season. He got his chance Wednesday, but in less-than-ideal circumstances.
The rain was heavy when Mize entered for the seventh inning. He threw nine pitches, eight of them fastballs ranging from 95-97 mph on the stadium radar gun, before plate umpire Laz Diaz stopped the game.
“You’ve got some young players out on the field that you don’t want to see get hurt, him being one of them,” Gardenhire said. “I don’t want to see him spin out or something, so that’s why we just stopped it.”
Mize’s first pitch, a 95 mph fastball, drew a swing and miss from Kyle Holder, whose bat flew into the Tigers dugout. Nobody was hit. Mize’s fifth pitch, a 97 mph heater, was lined back over his left shoulder for a single to center.
Tarp talk
Though Wednesday’s game started under sunny skies, credit the Joker Marchant Stadium grounds crew for making sure it started on time. The team arrived Wednesday morning to find the infield soaked, thanks to heavy rains Tuesday and a malfunctioning tarp.
“Our tarp doesn’t work,” Gardenhire said. “It has a ripped seam in it or something. They put it on and [the rain] went right through it. The field was a mess.”
The grounds crew spent all morning drying the infield with leaf blowers and fans, and replaced the top layer of dirt while the Yankees and Tigers took batting practice on the back fields.
As for the tarp, Gardenhire said, “We have a new tarp coming tomorrow. They’re overnighting it, believe it or not.”
Quick hits
• Among the highlights of Wednesday’s win was a third-inning grand slam that Stewart drove high off the light tower in right field. “It was way up there, probably top third [of the tower],” Gardenhire said of Stewart’s second home run in three days. “It might have gone to the roof [otherwise].”
• JaCoby Jones left Wednesday’s game after being struck on his right forearm by a Domingo Acevedo pitch. Jones was lifted for a pinch-runner, and he had his arm wrapped in ice later, but said he’s OK.
Up next
The Tigers will trek up Interstate 4 to Walt Disney World on Thursday for a 1:05 p.m. ET game against the Braves. Matt Moore will make his second start of the spring. The game will be available on radio at AM 1270 in Detroit and MLB Gameday Audio online.