Detroit – Sometimes it happens like you dream it. Or pretty darn close to it.
Lefty Dietrich Enns’ last big-league appearance was Sept. 24, 2021. He’s traveled a long, long road to get back. And he certainly made the most of his return.
“It feels great,” the 34-year-old Central Michigan product said after allowing one hit over five impressive innings Thursday, helping the Tigers beat the Athletics 8-0 and take the three-game series at Comerica Park. “I’m just super grateful for the opportunity to be here. I said I was grateful at the beginning of the year and I’m still grateful. It means a lot.”
The one hit he allowed was an infield hit to Eastern Michigan product Max Schuemann in the third inning.
“He was from Eastern?” Dietrich said. “I didn’t know that. That’s crazy.”
Also crazy: This was Enns’ third big-league win. The previous two, both in September of 2021, were against the Tigers.
“I’m proud of him for the journey,” manager AJ Hinch said. “He’s been around the world and worked his way back.”
Literally.
Enns, who last pitched in the big leagues with the Rays, spent 2022 and 2023 in Japan and last season pitched in Korea. The Tigers signed him and after he made a strong impression this spring, he was dominant in 14 starts at Triple-A Toledo (2.89 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 62.1 innings).
“Reliable human, reliable pitcher,” Hinch said. “He earned his way back here by how he pitched in Triple-A. I told him he got called up because he can help us win.”
BOX SCORE: Tigers 8, Athletics 0
Enns’ goal wasn’t just to get back to the big leagues, it was to be the best version of himself when he did get back.
“Those steps along the way were to hone the craft and get better and try to be as good as I can be when I’m back at the Major League level,” he said.
If he was dealing with any nerves or extra adrenaline, it didn’t show.
“I just tried to treat it like a normal game,” he said. “Just stay in my routine and fall back on that. But it’s pretty special to have a lot of family and friends in town for the game. But I just tried to stay focused on the task at hand and go about my business as usual.”
Enns got into the game with an eight-pitch, six-strike first inning and only had to work out of one mess.
In the third inning, Schuemann rolled a single to the left side of the infield and stole second. He advanced to third on a flyout.
But Enns left him there, getting the dangerous Brent Rooker to bounce into a 5-4-3 double-play.
“He stepped up big,” catcher Jake Rogers said. “I am super proud of him and happy for him to be back. He got the call and he did exactly what he needed to do. … We needed that and he did a hell of a job putting us in a position to win.”
Smartly mixing changeups, cutters and curveballs off well-located 93-mph four-seam fastballs, Enns struck out four and got six ground-ball outs. The Athletics put 11 balls in play against him with a mild average exit velocity of 81.4 mph.
“He had everything today,” Hinch said. “He’s very pitch-able, like, he can pitch to a game plan. He can beat guys at the top of the zone, which he did a lot today. His changeup came as advertised and his steal-a-strike curveball was effective. It felt like he could do with the ball whatever he wanted to do and execute at a high level.”
The only surprise for Enns came when Hinch shook his hand after five innings. He was only at 77 pitches, but, unbeknownst to him, he was probably never going to go through the Athletics lineup a third time.
“I didn’t see what the pitch count was but I felt good,” Enns said. “But once he told me that was it, I was just really happy with my outing overall, happy with where it was at and all it took me to get back here.”
It’s unclear what role Enns will play going forward. The only thing Hinch said for sure was that his next outing would be here, in the big leagues.
“I know he fits somewhere,” Hinch said. “He made a compelling case to be used. I told him yesterday that he can help us win. I told him, you are starting (Thursday) and we will figure out whatever we need to when we need to. But he earned the right to pitch again in some capacity.”
Another CMU alum had a big day Thursday, as well.
Zach McKinstry contributed a single and a double, plus a two-run triple, his American-League leading eighth three-bagger. He also had an adventurous day on the bases.
“He’ll do it in a lot of ways, with his bat, with his legs, with his defense,” Hinch said. “He’s a little bit of a throwback. When you see him after the game, like, he’s a mess. He’s either dived somewhere or slid somewhere.”
McKinstry was thrown out at third base in the fourth inning on a botched double-steal. And he was thrown out at home in the sixth, trying to score from second on a ground ball to shortstop and subsequent errant throw to first.
“If he would’ve trusted himself a little more, we would’ve had the double-steal,” Hinch said. “We had what we wanted with him at second and Javy (Baez) at first. He just made a double take at the last minute and Javy didn’t see him shut it down.”
Fittingly, though, the two outs on the bases didn’t deter McKinstry from tagging and scoring on a line-drive sacrifice fly to left by Rogers in the eight.
“Yeah, I thanked him,” Rogers said. “Good to have a fast runner there. I hugged him and said thanks.”
The Tigers also got home runs from Spencer Torkelson (solo shot in the second, his 17th) and a two-run, opposite-field blast by Gleyber Torres in the seventh (his eighth).
For Torkelson, it was his first since June 10. He’d gone 44 plate appearances between homers and was 4 for 37 in that stretch. And he just missed a second home run in the third, sending a drive to wall in dead center.
“It felt good,” Torkelson said. “It’s baseball. Just the battle of the season. Just riding the wave.”
The Tigers (51-31) continue to pile up series wins. They’ve won 18 of 25 series with one tie. They’ve won 10 of 13 series at Comerica Park.
@cmccosky
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