Hinch said.<\/a> \u201cHe finished strong, got swing-and-miss, and put us in position to win.\u201d<\/p>\nOpportunity Slips Away<\/p>\n
Detroit\u2019s offense provided support with an early surge, giving the Tigers a cushion that seemed sufficient given how Mize was throwing.<\/p>\n
But the inability to add on runs loomed large as the game moved into the later innings. What looked comfortable began to feel fragile.<\/p>\n
Hinch pointed to that missed opportunity after the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe put up a big number early and couldn\u2019t quite do much else,\u201d he said. \u201cThat inning ended up being the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Eighth Inning Unravels<\/p>\n
The turning point came quickly\u2014and decisively.<\/p>\n
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Reliever Will Vest ran into trouble, issuing two walks in an outing where command is typically his strength. Against a lineup featuring disciplined hitters, those free passes proved costly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose walks are very rare for him,\u201d Hinch said. \u201cYou\u2019re dealing with elite players, and they made him pay.\u201d<\/p>\n
With two outs and Vest nearing 30 pitches, Hinch turned to veteran closer Kenley Jansen to navigate the moment.<\/p>\n
A Debut That Changed the Game<\/p>\n
Instead, the inning belonged to a newcomer.<\/p>\n
Arizona rookie Jose Fernandez, making his major league debut, delivered the defining swing of the night\u2014a three-run home run that swung momentum completely in the Diamondbacks\u2019 favor.<\/p>\n
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Hinch acknowledged the decision and the outcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought giving a different look there made sense,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s a tough matchup. But the kid put a good swing on it in the biggest moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the kind of moment that can turn a game\u2014and for Detroit, it did.<\/p>\n
A Familiar Frustration Emerges<\/p>\n
For the Tigers, the loss followed a pattern that\u2019s becoming all too common early in the season: strong stretches undone by a single inning.<\/p>\n
Mize did his job. The offense showed flashes. But the inability to close out the game proved costly once again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing and frustrating,\u201d Hinch said. \u201cGiven where we were positioned going into the eighth, we expect to finish that game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Looking Ahead<\/p>\n
The Tigers will take encouragement from Mize\u2019s performance, which offered a glimpse of the form they\u2019ll need throughout the season.<\/p>\n
But the broader issue remains. Until Detroit finds consistency in late-game execution, performances like Mize\u2019s risk being overshadowed.<\/p>\n
On this night, one inning was all it took.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For six innings Tuesday night, it felt like the Detroit Tigers had everything under control. Casey Mize was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2386],"tags":[146,22,5,399,147,53,2583,132,4,1323,594,1117],"class_list":{"0":"post-656810","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-tigers","8":"tag-arizona","9":"tag-arizona-diamondbacks","10":"tag-baseball","11":"tag-casey-mize","12":"tag-detroit","13":"tag-detroit-tigers","14":"tag-detroittigers","15":"tag-kenley-jansen","16":"tag-mlb","17":"tag-the-tigers","18":"tag-tigers","19":"tag-will-vest"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116330040474611983","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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