PHILADELPHIA -- Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire was forced to make the one decision on Wednesday night that he had hoped to avoid in his team's quick two-game Interleague trip to Citizens Bank Park.
Left-hander Daniel Norris had allowed one run through five innings on just 64 pitches, and he had retired seven straight batters -- but he was also due to step to the plate with two on and two out in a tie game in the top of the sixth. Not wanting to squander an opportunity to take the lead, especially with the Phillies removing starter Aaron Nola, Gardenhire opted to lift Norris for pinch-hitter Harold Castro, who promptly grounded out to end the threat.
Though the Tigers would take a one-run lead the following inning, the bullpen couldn't successfully navigate the extended workload in a 7-3 loss.
"I don’t like to think about taking pitchers out unless they get knocked out," Gardenhire had said in the visiting manager's office prior to Tuesday's series opener. "I’d rather not have to take them out because we’re down one run or two runs ... and you end up going to your bullpen earlier than you really would like to. But sometimes you have to do it in [Interleague Play]."
Unfortunately for Detroit, that was exactly the case on Wednesday, when the bullpen allowed six runs off 10 hits in just three innings following Norris' strong start.
Following Norris' departure, Ronny Rodriguez actually put the Tigers in front with an RBI single in the top of the seventh, but things quickly unraveled in the bottom half of the frame. Detroit used four relievers, including Victor Alcántara, who entered with the bases loaded and promptly served up a bases-clearing double to Maikel Franco.
"We didn’t want to use Alcantara, unless we had to get an out in that inning, because he pitched yesterday," Gardenhire said. "But he left a ball up too, so it just kind of snowballed a bit there, and it got out away from us. We actually played a nice ballgame until that inning."
Even in hindsight, Gardenhire didn't regret the decision to remove Norris in the top of the sixth. Along with the potential scoring opportunity, Gardenhire said he would have considered going to the bullpen anyway due to the length of the frame.
Not only did the Tigers send six batters to the plate, but the inning also featured a manager's challenge on a caught stealing and two mound visits, including a pitching change.
"We had runners out there, so you’re going to try to score another run, but also the inning went on for more than 20 minutes," Gardenhire said. "When that normally happens after [five] innings, we’re not going to kill that kid. He’s been through a lot of injuries in the past and we don’t want to start it again. We like the way he’s throwing the ball."
Norris, who lowered his ERA to 3.00 in his three starts this season, had no issue with the move -- aside from his skipper doubting his hitting abilities.
“I told Gardy, I was like, ‘Man, I was just getting my swing dialed in. I was about to knock that Liberty Bell down out there,’" said Norris, referencing the replica bell situated well above the bullpens beyond the center-field fence. "Obviously, I understood the move."
As for his pitching, Norris said he felt great about his offspeed stuff, but he's still trying to ramp up his fastball, which averaged just 89.9 mph on Wednesday. It was sitting at 90.2 mph this season entering the game, down from 93.1 mph last season and 93.7 in 2017.
"Just that extra zip on my fastball, I’m just kind of waiting for that to come back," Norris said. "I’ve shown myself every time I go out there that I can still compete with 90, 91 [mph]. So I’ve got to be patient, but I’m working super hard to get that back and be an animal out there.
"But I had a lot of fun swinging and running. That’s just baseball.”