Detroit Tigers waste every opportunity to score in 1-0 loss to Texas Rangers
The Detroit Tigers wasted every opportunity.
Old friend Michael Lorenzen, a veteran right-hander who pitched for the Tigers last season, started for the Texas Rangers in Monday's opener of a four-game series at Comerica Park. He wasn't sharp in his first start of the season, but that didn't matter because the Tigers failed to get the big hit in a 1-0 loss to the Rangers.
The Tigers (9-7) grounded into three double plays through the first five innings, including a pair of inning-ending double plays from Mark Canha. Lorenzen threw five scoreless innings despite walking five and giving up three hits.
The lack of offense was especially frustrating because right-hander Reese Olson pitched into the seventh inning for just the third time in his 21-start career. He allowed one run on six hits and one walk with eight strikeouts over 6⅓ innings, but the Tigers couldn't back him up by scoring runs.
The double plays against Lorenzen happened in the third inning, fourth inning and fifth inning.
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In the third, Canha grounded into an inning-ending double play after Riley Greene's walk. In the fourth, Matt Vierling grounded into a double play after walks from Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter. In the fifth, Canha grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded, after singles from Gio Urshela and Javier Báez and another walk from Greene.
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The Tigers ran into troubles on offense later in the game, as well.
In the eighth inning, Canha doubled and Torkelson reached safely on catcher interference with one out against right-handed reliever David Robertson. The momentum was killed — and the two runners were stranded — when Carpenter lined out and Wenceel Pérez struck out looking.
Pérez battled for nine pitches, but Robertson froze him with a curveball located in the strike zone.
Right-handed reliever Kirby Yates sent down the Tigers in order in the bottom of the ninth inning: Colt Keith (groundout), Urshela (groundout) and Báez (flyout).
The Tigers finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
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Reese Olson shines
Olson threw 95 pitches and kept the Tigers within striking distance.
He recorded strikeouts for six of his first seven outs: Marcus Semien (swinging strike, changeup), Evan Carter (swinging strike, slider), Adolis García (swinging strike, changeup), Ezequiel Duran (swinging strike, slider), Jared Walsh (swinging strike, slider) and Leody Taveras (swinging strike, curveball).
Olson also struck out Josh Smith (swinging strike, slider) in the fourth inning and García (swinging strike, changeup) in the sixth inning. He didn't get any strikeouts in the fifth inning, which is when the Rangers scored against him.
In the fifth, the first three batters loaded the bases. Jonah Heim hit a curveball at the bottom of the strike zone for a double to right field. Olson then sprayed two fastballs as part of a six-pitch walk to Walsh. And Taveras hit a single that deflected off the glove of diving first baseman Spencer Torkelson.
Semien grounded into a force out, but it was enough to put the Rangers ahead, 1-0.
Olson left one on with one out in the seventh inning for left-handed reliever Tyler Holton, who cleaned up by retiring back-to-back batters to end the inning. Olson previously pitched into the seventh inning Sept. 2 and Sept. 8 during his rookie year last season, both against the Chicago White Sox.
Against the Rangers, Olson generated 16 whiffs (on 46 swings) with 10 changeups, five sliders and one curveball. HIs four-seam fastball produced eight of his 15 called strikes, plus an additional two called strikes from his sinker.
His changeup-slider combination was dynamite.
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Riley Greene's strong throw
There could have been another run in the fifth inning.
The Rangers tested the arm of Greene in left field, and Greene made the Rangers pay by throwing out Walsh trying to score from third base on a flyout. He tagged up, but he wasn't even close to beating Greene's strong throw.
The double play ended the fifth inning.
Greene threw the ball 90 mph.
This is the first time Riley Greene has thrown out a runner at home in his MLB career. His only previous OF assist was doubling off Jon Berti at 1B last July 28 in Miami. pic.twitter.com/9NxiqdGF27
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) April 15, 2024
The big play in the fifth marked the first time Greene threw out a runner at home, even though he entered Monday's game with 1,687⅔ innings as an outfielder — mostly as a center fielder — in his three-year MLB career.
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 every opportunity in 1-0 loss to Texas Rangers
