Do you prefer sticks or donuts? Tuesday night for the Detroit Tigers featured a little of both, as the Tigers opened a three-game home series with the Colorado Rockies in Detroit. Rookie Keider Montero got the start for the Tigers. No “opener” is needed for Montero, who, making his 14th start of the season, has plenty of big-league experience to lean on. Already, he is working to develop a sinker and a slider, the latter of which proved quite effective against the free-swinging Rockies.
Turning it over, the Tigers’ offense brought their sticks, and put up some more on the scoreboard. Parker Meadows got the party started for the Tigers on the second pitch of the game, sending a line drive into the right field seats against his former high school teammate Bradley Bialock. The Tigers’ offense kept the party rolling, in a game that saw the Tigers tally 10 hits. Every Detroit starter had a hit, except for Jace Jung, who walked twice, and starting catcher Jake Rogers, who still managed to score a run. Although a leadoff homer is always great, it’s only worth one run. Getting to eleven proved to not be a problem, as a four-run second inning, punctuated by a Riley Greene three-run triple, and a six-run sixth inning helped to back up what proved to be the only big fly of the game.
Back to Montero, 40 pitches after three innings do not normally lead to a complete game, but 53 pitches after the fifth inning tend to work better in terms of pitcher longevity. And as the game progressed, the Colorado batters seemed more eager to swing the bat, producing a lot of quick outs and ultimately helping Montero to finish the game on the mound. Montero’s ability to paint the edges of the strike zone is of course a work in progress, but his command is most definitely improving, as demonstrated by his five strikeouts. Ultimately a gaudy, 11-0 win is only one win, but at this point in the season, every win is a big one win, and they all help the Tigers as they work to secure a playoff spot.
