Detroit Tigers go homerless in 6-4 spring training loss to Blue Jays: Game thread recap
Grapefruit League: Detroit Tigers (1-2) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (1-2)
When: 1:07 p.m.
Where: TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida.
TV: None.
Radio: WXYT-AM (1270).
First-pitch weather forecast: Sunny, 76 degrees.
Probable starting pitchers: Tigers LHP Joey Wentz (2-2, 3.03 ERA in 2022) vs. Blue Jays RHP Chris Bassitt (15-9, 3.42 ERA in 2022).
AT SHORT ... :Getting to know Javier Báez, from his Lamborghini to his incredible farm in Puerto Rico
JEFF SEIDEL:How Tigers' top-secret pitching laboratory has modernized their pitchers
Tigers lineup:
3B Nick Maton
LF Riley Greene
DH Javier Baez
RF Austin Meadows
CF Matt Vierling
2B Cesar Hernandez
1B Andy Ibanez
C Donny Sands
SS Zack Short
P Joey Wentz
Game notes: One of the toughest things about trying to actually compete in the AL East — potentially the toughest division in MLB once again this season — is having to continually rework your roster to keep up with the goliaths of Gotham, the New York Yankees. (Whew, thank goodness the Tigers aren’t bothering with that, especially after Monday's 8-5 loss.) The Yanks added lefty Carlos Rodon to their rotation and will get a full season of Harrison Bader, picked up at August’s trade deadline, in center, all after breezing to the division crown with a seven-game lead over the Jays.
And so Toronto hit the streets again, adding right-hander Chris Bassitt to the middle of their rotation, Daulton Varsho (27 homers with Arizona) and Kevin Kiermaier (three Gold Gloves) to their outfield, and Brandon Belt (30-homer power when he’s healthy, which he NEVER is) at DH. (They also picked up utilityman/Tigers-killer Whit Merrifield from the Royals at the trade deadline, and presumably he’s fully vaccinated now.)
Bassitt will be the Tigers’ focus today, at least for a couple innings. The Akron alumnus lived up to the blockbuster deal that brought him to the New York Mets for a season, going 15-9 while striking out 167 and walking 49 in 181 2/3 innings. It wasn’t quite up to the standard he set in Oakland, finishing in the top 10 of AL Cy Young voting in 2020 and 2021, but he also didn’t get hit in the head by a batted ball like he did in August 2021, so we’ll call it a win and move on.
TIGERS NEWSLETTER:They've gotta hit more homers this year, right?
The Tigers, meanwhile, will send rookie Joey Wentz to the mound for a couple innings; Wentz, of course, is the last organizational reminder of the glory days of Doug (not Dog) Fister. (The transaction chain: Fister to Washington for Robbie Ray in 2014; Ray to the Diamondbacks in a 3-way deal that brought Shane Greene from the Yankees in 2015; Greene to the Braves at the 2019 trade deadline.) His 3.03 Era last season is actually a little misleading; after getting bombed in two May starts and spending some time on the IL, the lefty returned in September and allowed just five earned runs over 26 innings while striking out 22 and walking 11.
After wrapping things up against the Jays, the Tigers return to Lakeland for a day-date with the Pirates to open March. The Jays, meanwhile, head to Sarasota, Florida, to face the Orioles, who did not add nearly as many players this offseason.
Live updates
Can't see the updates? Refresh the page or check them out on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers lose, 6-4, in spring to Blue Jays: Game thread recap
