Detroit – When Trey Sweeney walked into the clubhouse Sunday morning, the obvious first thought was that Wenceel Perez was going to need a 10-day stint on the injured list to let the bone bruise on his right foot heal.
He’d left the game Saturday night in the fifth after fouling a ball hard off that foot in the second inning.
But, no. That wasn’t it.
The Tigers Sunday placed outfielder Matt Vierling on the injured list with a left oblique strain.
“I found out after the game he was going for testing,” manager AJ Hinch said. “He had some intermittent soreness, which is normal in August.”
Vierling, who missed most of the first two months of the season with a shoulder injury, was just starting to get back into a groove. He was riding a four-game hitting streak that included a pinch-hit, game-winning three-run home run on Friday.
His performance didn’t indicate any injury.
“But every time he would miss or check his swing, he would have some treatable issue in his oblique area,” Hinch said. “That’s not why I pinch-hit for him (Saturday). I found out about the testing after the game. But the testing revealed an IL-worthy oblique issue.”
Hinch said the doctors have not eliminated the chance for Vierling to return before the end of the season.
“The severity is mild,” Hinch said. “But he clearly needed to go on the IL.”
It’s just another level of aggravation in an already aggravating season for Vierling.
“He’s frustrated because he wanted to play through all of this,” Hinch said. “And quite honestly, it wasn’t presenting as what it generally does. Usually there’s that moment in time when you see the grab or the flinch. It’s hard to reconcile being able to hit that ball to left field as hard and far as he did and yet when he swung and missed last night, it really bothered him.
“He’s frustrated but he’s also pretty resolute to try and shorten time the best he can.”
Old-new lineup mix
Sweeney, who was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on July 25, started at shortstop Sunday with Javier Baez starting in center.
“We’re not really looking too much further than today’s game,” Hinch said. “Javy will play more outfield, as will Wenceel. We’ve had this construction of the roster already. We started the year without Parker Meadows, without Matt Vierling and without Wenceel. Center field has been a tough place for us physically.”
Perez did not start Sunday but Hinch said he was available off the bench.
“I hope he doesn’t hit the ball off his foot,” he said. “But X-rays were negative and everything checked out good. I just walked by him and he’s upbeat and happy as ever. We’re hoping one day will alleviate some of the soreness.”
Sweeney made the most of this time in Toledo. In 10 games, he slashed .342/.432/.553 with a .984 OPS with a pair of homers.
“Did a lot of good work down there,” Sweeney said. “Went over a lot of stuff with (Mud Hens hitting coach) Mike Hessman. “I felt good, just trying to get more comfortable. I felt like I improved. Just excited to get back playing up here. The (time in Toledo) definitely served a purpose.”
Ice breaker
Right-hander Codi Heuer, purchased from the Rangers at the trade deadline, made his Tigers’ debut Saturday night.
“It felt great,” he said.
He spent 37 months in rehab, working through two different right elbow surgeries. And even though he threw one regrettable, center-cut 93.8-mph four-seamer that Luis Rengifo ran out of the ballpark, he showcased the swing-and-miss potential the Tigers’ covet.
He got six whiffs on seven swings with his slider, including a chase punch-out of Travis d’Arnaud.
“It’s been a great pitch for me recently,” Heuer said. “It’s something I can use to get me back in the zone if I need it or if I really need a swing-and-miss. It’s been great.”
It has an unusual shape. Metrically, it has a low spin-rate and not a lot of horizontal movement. It almost presents itself to hitters like a top-down curveball.
“I’m thinking straight down when I throw it,” he said. “I’m thinking getting over it and throwing it straight down. I’d rather it be more up and down.”
Heuer got the final out in the eighth and worked a scoreless ninth, keeping the Tigers’ deficit at three runs. And the closeness of the game forced the Angels to use closer Kenley Jansen.
“The swing-and-miss slider is what we talked about when we brought him here,” Hinch said. “Especially right-on-right, and he showed that. And he got a couple of swings-and-misses against the lefties. But more than that, he got his first experience being on the team.
“And it was really important that he got to that (ninth) inning and put up a scoreless inning. The more pitches we can see out of their bullpen the better and that doesn’t happen if he doesn’t throw a scoreless ninth.”
Heuer’s main issue coming out of it was his fastball velocity. He was sitting 93-94, below his 95-97 mph norm.
“Yeah the velo was down a tick or two, or three,” he said. “So I don’t love that. But it felt good to get my feet wet. Felt great to be in there with these guys.”
Pitching plan
With the Tigers in the midst of another stretch of 13 games without an off-day, Hinch is planning to insert a bullpen game on Wednesday against the White Sox in order to give each of the starters an extra day of rest. That means that Tarik Skubal’s next start will be Thursday against the Twins at Target Field. “We’ve done this routinely for the entire year,” Hinch said.
Tigers at White Sox
Series: Three games at Rate Field
First pitch: Monday-Tuesday – 7:40 p.m.; Wednesday – 2:10 p.m.
TV/radio: Monday-Wednesday – FanDuel Sports/97.1
Probables: Monday – RHP Chris Paddack (4-10, 4.91) vs. TBA; Tuesday – RHP Jack Flaherty (6-11, 4.56) vs. TBA; Wednesday – TBA vs. RHP Shane Smith (3-7, 4.22).
Paddack, Tigers: He’s pitched to some hard contact in his two starts as a Tiger. In both his win against Arizona and loss to the Twins, opponents’ average exit velocity on balls in play was well over 90 mph. On the season, his 90-mph average exit velocity ranks in the bottom 22 percentile in baseball. But he does attack the zone, fearlessly, and when he can command his changeup and slider, he can get a lot of fast outs. This will be his third start against the White Sox. He was roughed up on the South Side on March 31 (nine earned runs in 3.1 innings).
White Sox: The White Sox are expected to use an opener to start this game. There is a good chance former Tigers lefty Tyler Alexander will be the bulk reliever. He pitched 4.1 scoreless, one-hit innings of bulk relief in his last outing at Seattle.
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