ANAHEIM -- Tigers starting pitcher Casey Mize was forced to exit Sunday's game in the bottom of the fourth inning of an eventual 3-2 loss to the Angels after being struck by a ground ball in the left hand/wrist area.
Angels right fielder Jo Adell ripped a 108.8 mph grounder directly back to the mound that Mize deflected and fielded, making the throw to first baseman Spencer Torkelson to log the out before walking off the field with a member of the Tigers’ training staff.
Following the game, manager A.J. Hinch revealed that Mize was dealing with multiple physical issues prior to the Adell comebacker.
“Casey had a couple things going," Hinch said. "He got hit in the wrist. He had a little bit of groin tightness. And so there were multiple things going on. I needed to take him out of the game ... just trying to be smart to make sure there's no issue. I think it sounds like the wrist is OK. I know he wasn't complaining a ton about it. We'll get the groin checked out, see how he feels tomorrow."
When asked about managing the recurring lower body tightness, which previously landed him on the 15-day injured list with a right adductor strain in late April, Mize characterized the exit as a safety measure.
“I would say precautionary would be a good word to describe it," Mize said. "Similar area [as before], but precautionary is a good way to describe the decision to come out of the game."
The abrupt exit cut short what had been a competitive outing for the right-hander, who entered Sunday looking to build on a strong platform year. Mize had historically controlled the matchup against the Angels, carrying a 3-0 career record and a 3.26 ERA against the club into the series finale.
“It's tough,” Mize said of his early exit. “As a starting pitcher, you want to obviously get more than 10 outs for your team. And leaving the game just doesn't feel good. So, it's always frustrating.”
Before the injury, Mize had navigated out of multiple jams to keep the score tied at 1. He leaned heavily on his splitter and slider to record five strikeouts, including escaping a two-on, two-out threat in the bottom of the second by winning a 10-pitch battle to strike out Zach Neto. In the third, Mize struck out both Vaughn Grissom and Josh Lowe with runners on first and third to preserve the tie. He finished his afternoon having allowed one run on five hits and one walk over 3 1/3 innings, throwing 74 pitches.
On the flip side, the final score capped an afternoon in which Detroit struggled to string hits together, despite getting an immediate spark in the top of the first when rookie Kevin McGonigle launched a leadoff home run to left-center field. Aside from McGonigle's shot and a ninth-inning solo homer by Riley Greene, opportunities were scarce for the Tigers against Angels starter Ryan Johnson, missing a crucial bases-loaded chance in the fifth inning.
“On the bookend part, it was nice to see both Kevin get his kickstarted and then Riley obviously pulled the game closer," Hinch said of the offensive output. "But we didn't have a ton of opportunities, whether it was executing -- we had the one bases loaded, [where Johnson] got out of the jam -- but we had a hard time putting things together. On the flip side, we were under stress the entire game. They got a lot of leadoff guys on base, made our guys work a ton. We had to go through a few pitchers. And yet the game was still very winnable and very close. So we just had a hard time piecing things together to be offensive.”
Catcher Jake Rogers echoed that sentiment, noting the bullpen was put under immediate pressure following Mize's exit. But despite dropping the series finale, the Tigers still left Anaheim having accomplished their primary objective on the road trip before heading to Chicago.
“We came away with a series win. We're happy," Rogers said. "Obviously we want to sweep there and could have been a big win, but it wasn't our best hitting performance today. They did a really good job of keeping us off the bases. And when they did, they got out of it. We're playing winning ball right now. And obviously, it wasn't a win there. And we wanted it, needed it, but we moved on.”