Tigers pounce on Halos' bullpen after rain delay

Tigers pounce on Halos' bullpen after rain delay

May 30th, 2018

DETROIT -- The rain finally knocked out .
The scoreboard could not knock out the Tigers' rally goose.
Detroit eventually knocked around Angels reliever .
It was a strange, rainy Wednesday night at Comerica Park, ending with the Tigers' fifth win in their last seven games. Detroit gained a 6-1 victory over the Angels, and picked up an accidental mascot in the process.
"Rally Goose," said as he cracked a smile. "Best part of the day was that he was OK."

The Canada goose was roaming right field during the second rain delay of the night, a 41-minute interruption with one out to go in the top of the sixth inning. It was too long for Ohtani and Tigers starter Mike Fiers, who endured a 23-minute delay an inning earlier, to return, leaving them with no-decisions in a 1-1 game.

That was fine with the Tigers, who had seen everything from nasty splitters to a 101.1-mph fastball from Ohtani, the hardest pitch thrown by a starting pitcher in the Majors this season.
"It's just amazing how he's throwing 90 [mph], 91 and all of a sudden you see 98 out of nowhere when he really wanted to pump up," Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. "A nice, big, slow curveball, and really confident out on the mound. Yeah, that's a pretty nice-looking pitcher, a nice-looking young man who did really well."
Detroit managed a run on three hits against Ohtani, including a Niko Goodrum first-inning RBI single and a pair of Castellanos doubles.

"He has very powerful stuff," Castellanos said, "so I think when he comes to a place where he's harnessing that and he can play with that 101 whenever he wants, that's kind of a -type deal."
While the grounds crew tried to shoo the goose -- first with flares, then by running wildly after him -- the bullpens went to work. The goose never quite took off, crashing into a ribbon board behind home plate and falling into the stands before being helped out of the ballpark by a veterinarian in attendance.
The goose was shaken but OK, and the Tigers took off against , loading the bases with nobody out. Bedrosian (1-1) struck out before laced his next pitch into center for a two-run single. and Castellanos added RBI singles to build some cushion for Louis Coleman (2-0) and the rest of the Tigers' bullpen.
"We broke up the goose eggs," Gardenhire said, pun intended.

Fiers was a pitch away from finishing the sixth inning when the second rain delay hit. He finished with 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball on seven hits with a walk and four strikeouts. ' third-inning RBI single accounted for the Angels' lone run.
INJURY REPORT
Iglesias left the game the inning after the Tigers' rally after suffering a right hip contusion sliding into home plate. He was limping as he left the Tigers' clubhouse following the game, but said the injury wasn't serious and that he should be fine in a day or two.

ROSTER MOVE
The Tigers announced after the game that they selected the contract of infielder Ronny Rodriguez from Triple-A Toledo and optioned Greiner back to the Mud Hens. The move comes after Rodriguez hit for the cycle for the Hens on Wednesday morning, but might also have been related to an opt-out looming in the Minor League contract he signed with the Tigers last offseason.
"It's time for him to come up," Gardenhire said. "I think there's some stipulation with him in the Minor Leagues and we either have to make a move or we're going to lose him. It's time. The guy's playing his tail off. He's been recommended by the whole staff down there. This guy deserves a chance, and we're going to do that and give him this opportunity."
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
nearly joined Iglesias among the Tigers' injuries when he crashed into the wall separating the left-field stands from foul territory, but he got a highlight catch for his trouble. Jones reached into the seats to corral a foul ball leading off the seventh inning.

"It's just another one of those guys that's just playing," Gardenhire said. "They're getting after it, busting their tails and doing everything they can to make a play. And that's what's fun about this baseball team. He's got a banged-up knee that's a little sore. We'll see how he is tomorrow."
HE SAID IT
"As far as me hitting his splitter, I have no idea what I'm doing when I hit, man. I just kind of look for something and swing hard." -- Castellanos, on hitting Ohtani's splitter
UP NEXT
(0-1, 8.31 ERA) gets the fill-in start for the injured as the Tigers' series against the Halos wraps up with a 1:10 p.m. ET matinee at Comerica Park. (2-3, 3.09) is scheduled to start for the Angels.