Detroit Tigers' bullpen wastes another sharp Reese Olson outing in 2-1 loss to Braves
ATLANTA — The Detroit Tigers did a lot of things right.
Right-hander Reese Olson, who grew up 60 miles from Atlanta, pitched six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in a brilliant homecoming performance; Riley Greene played a key role in scratching across a run against left-hander Max Fried with an RBI single in the sixth inning. But those successes weren't enough because the Tigers couldn't hold off the Atlanta Braves in the late innings.
The Tigers lost to the Braves, 2-1, in Monday's opener of a three-game series at Truist Park. The Braves scored one run in the seventh inning and eighth inning against a pair of relievers.
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Despite an encouraging start, the Tigers (34-38) squandered their 1-0 advantage in the seventh inning after right-handed reliever Will Vest replaced Olson.
The Braves tied the game, 1-1, on Forrest Wall's RBI single off Vest with two strikes and two outs in the seventh inning. The Braves then took a 2-1 lead on Ozzie Albies' solo home run off right-handed reliever Shelby Miller with two outs in the eighth inning.
Entering Monday, the Tigers' bullpen ranked 26th in MLB with a 4.72 ERA since April 15.
For the Braves, right-handed reliever Joe Jiménez — whom the Tigers traded for Justyn-Henry Malloy in December 2022 — retired all three batters agaisnst his old team in the top of the ninth inning, ending the game.
Riley Greene breaks the ice
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning.
Three batters reached safely in a row against Fried: Andy Ibáñez (single), Mark Canha (walk) and Greene (single). Greene, a left-handed hitter who typically struggles against lefty pitchers, drilled a two-strike, up-and-in slider into right field, scoring Ibáñez from second base.
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Fried, one of the top lefties in the National League, allowed one run on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts across 5⅓ innings, throwing 103 pitches.
The Tigers missed an opportunity for runs in the fourth inning when three batters reached safely with two outs in the fourth inning: Greene (walk), Gio Urshela (single) and Malloy (walk). In that situation, Colt Keith grounded out on a first-pitch sinker to strand the bases loaded.
A bad call
This pitch resulted in a called-third strikeout to end the top of the sixth inning. Two runners stranded in scoring position. #Tigers pic.twitter.com/ufb91Ix4cB
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) June 18, 2024
After Greene's RBI single, Fried struck out Urshela for the first out of the sixth inning before exiting, replaced by right-handed reliever Jesse Chavez, who struck out Malloy for the second out.
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The runners — Canha and Greene — advanced to third and second base, respectively, because of a balk with Keith at the plate.
Keith battled for eight pitches, but he struck out on a called-third strike located outside of the strike zone. It was a bad call from home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers waste Reese Olson outing in 2-1 loss to Atlanta Braves
