LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers split squad beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-4, on Tuesday at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland. The Tigers played another game Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota, losing 5-2.

The Tigers have a 2-2-1 record in Grapefruit League play with one win and one loss on Tuesday's split-squad day.

What happened

In Lakeland, right-hander Casey Mize pitched in his first competitive game since May 12, 2022, in Triple-A Toledo as part of a failed rehab assignment. The 26-year-old underwent elbow surgery and back surgery, then missed all of last season while rehabbing.

Now, Mize is back in action.

"It's rewarding," Mize said. "I was super happy to be back out there. I don't know if I'd call it a big game from a competitive standpoint, but to me, it was obviously important. It feels good."

He finished better than he started and threw a combined 1⅔ innings against the Blue Jays, allowing two runs on one hit and two walks with one strikeout. His improved four-seam fastball profiled as an above-average pitch, generating four of his five whiffs and averaging 95.7 mph with 18.5 inches of induced vertical break.

The Tigers and Blue Jays were tied at four runs apiece from the top of the fourth inning until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Ryan Vilade stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, following walks from Andrew Navigato, Daniel Cabrera and Trei Cruz.

Vilade broke the tie and put the Tigers ahead, 6-4, with a two-run double off right-handed reliever Juan Nunez. He jumped a first-pitch 94.2 mph fastball at the top of the strike zone.

Starting off

Here's a rule to remember: A pitcher in spring training, unlike in the regular season, can be removed from one inning and return to the game in the next inning.

That's exactly what happened to Mize.

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He walked back-to-back batters and exited with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning, throwing just 10 of 23 pitches for strikes. Left-handed reliever Bryan Sammons, from minor-league camp, gave up a two-run double before getting the third out.

Mize, though, returned for the second inning.

He cleaned up the command of his pitches and performed significantly better in the second inning. As a result, he threw seven of 12 pitches for strikes and retired three batters in a row. Will Robertson, who played at the Double-A level last season, struck out swinging at Mize's elevated 96.6 mph fastball to end the outing.

Mize used 20 fastballs, seven splitters, six sliders and two curveballs.

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His fastball maxed out at 97.3 mph.

At the plate

The Tigers torched right-hander Alek Manoah, who struggled to command his pitches, for two runs in the first inning and two runs in the second inning.

Colt Keith drove in two runs with a double to right-center field in the first inning. Spencer Torkelson drove in two runs with a double to left-center field in the second inning. Both hitters hammered sliders that Manoah hung over the middle of the strike zone.

The double from Torkelson chased Manoah with two outs in the second inning.

Riley Greene — the designated hitter in Monday's game — played his first game in the outfield, working as the right fielder. He finished 2-for-2 with one walk.

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In the fourth inning, Greene swung at a middle-middle 95.6 mph sinker from right-handed reliever Zach Pop. He drove the ball the opposite way for a ground-rule double to left-center field.

Gio Urshela, who started at third base, went 2-for-3 with two singles in his first spring training game.

On the mound

Three of the top relievers pitched: right-hander Shelby Miller, left-hander Andrew Chafin and right-hander Jason Foley. Miller and Foley tossed up zeros on the scoreboard, but Chafin surrendered two runs — with two strikeouts — in the fourth inning.

Chafin hung a two-strike, two-out slider to Alan Roden, a former third-round pick who split time between the High-A and Double-A levels last season. The ball traveled over the right-field wall for a two-run home run, tying the game at four runs.

Foley's sinker averaged 98.9 mph, topping out at 100 mph, in the fifth inning. Right-hander Miguel Díaz tossed a scoreless sixth inning with one strikeout.

Right-hander Drew Anderson, who signed a minor-league contract after two seasons in Japan, impressed in the seventh and eighth innings. He fired two perfect innings with two strikeouts. His fastball averaged 97.2 mph, up from 92.5 mph when he last pitched in the majors with the Texas Rangers in 2021.

Three stars

1. Mize, 2. Keith, 3. Anderson.

Next up

Wednesday (1:05 p.m.) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Casey Mize returns in 6-4 split-squad win over Toronto