Guardians 3, Tigers 1: A great start by Casey Mize couldn’t dodge the sweep
· Yahoo Sports
The fourth game of the Tigers’ miserable series against the Guardians kicked off this afternoon and the best thing I can say about this series is that it’s almost over. The other positive was that Casey Mize was on the mound for the Tigers, up against Joey Cantillo for the Guardians. The Tigers learned a harsh lesson in this series that a one-run lead is not enough to get the job done, so they’d be hunting for runs today, but that hunt has been going on all season, so we shall see.
Mize started the game strong, looking sharp as he got Cleveland out in order. The Tigers made a valiant effort to score early in the first, with a one-out single from Kevin McGonigle, followed by a double from Dillon Dingler. Then, with two outs, Jahmai Jones walked to load the bases, but the RISP curse runs deepn with this team and they were all left stranded.
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In the second, Mize carried the weight of the club, once again getting the Guardians out in order. In the home half, Zack Short got a one-out single, but the Tigers weren’t able to bring him home.
The lack of runs on the Tigers’ part came back to bite them early. With two outs, Brayan Rocchio doubled, and right behind him, Daniel Schneeman doubled as well, bringing in the first run of the game. A Jose Ramirez single then brought Schneeman in. Mize was able to cut it off at two. In the bottom of the inning, McGonigle got a leadoff walk, but three outs followed.
In the fourth, the Guardians went 1-2-3. Unfortunately, in the bottom of the inning, so did the Tigers.
With two outs in the fifth, Rocchio struck again with another double. He was left stranded, though, thanks to some really quality pitching today from Mize. In the bottom of the inning, Matt Vierling got a one-out walk, but he would be the only Tigers baserunner for the inning.
Mize continued to grind in the sixth, getting the Guardians out in order, and man it’s so nice to see a healthy Casey Mize doing his thing. In the home half, Cantillo was done after two outs, being replaced by Matt Festa who came in and gave up a single to Spencer Torkelson. The Tigers didn’t manage to take advantage of it, though, and left the inning scoreless.
After two outs in the seventh, Mize was done, replaced by Burch Smith. Mize’s great outing, marred only by the two runs early on, had a final line of 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, o BB, 4 K on 95 pitches. Would love to see this Mize more, and with run support. Smith got the final out of the inning. The Guardians dipped back into their pen as well, for Shawn Armstrong. A pinch-hitting Colt Keith came in and took a leadoff walk. Armstrong faced the minimum before being replaced by Tim Herrin who got the final out of the inning.
Patrick Bailey opened the eighth inning with a solo home run, his first with the Guardians this season. Rocchio then singled, having himself a really strong game. Schneeman then walked. Smith was replaced by Enmanuel De Jesus. With two outs, Rocchio stole third, but the Guardians weren’t able to add to their lead. The Tigers, however, decided to finally get something going in the home half, as Dillon Dingler started the inning with a solo home run. With one out, Cleveland dipped back into their bullpen for Codi Heuer, who got the final two outs of the inning.
The Guardians went down in order in the top of the ninth. The Tigers needed a comeback and they’d have to do it against Hunter Gaddis. After two outs, Zach McKinstry singled into right to keep the inning alive, but it wasn’t enough to get a win, and the Tigers were swept in the four-game series against their divison rivals.