Player of the gameDrew AndersonDET5.0ip 2h 0er 3bb 4k
Drew Anderson had his best start since joining the Tigers’ rotation on Tuesday, pitching five scoreless innings as they routed the Blue Jays, 10-1, for their sixth straight win. Detroit’s AL Wild Card chances are still slim -- they remain 4 1/2 games back of the final spot and entered play Tuesday with 1% playoff odds, according to FanGraphs. But Anderson did all he could to continue the Tigers’ improbable push. Even with his fastball velocity down 1.4 mph from his season average (95.4 mph), Anderson crossed up Toronto hitters with a well-sequenced and well-located array of four-seamers, changeups, curveballs and sliders. He threw 88 pitches (58 strikes), and many were dotted on the edges of the zone. “His fastball was pretty good today. I thought he had a pretty decent location down and away from righties,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He did throw a couple changeups. ... He threw more sliders today. So he's got a lot of pitches to play with. And obviously throwing them to the right hitters is key, and he and Val did a really good job with the game plan.” For a brief stretch in the third inning, Anderson’s control wavered, and he issued consecutive free passes to George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., walking the bases loaded. However, he escaped that jam by getting Alejandro Kirk to roll over on a curveball at the knees. “We're just trying to put the ball in play, trying to get the out,” Eduardo Valencia said of how they approached the bases-loaded situation. “… Get a ground ball, and that's what happened. So really good for him.” All told, the two hits Anderson allowed were on a softly hit ball and a grounder. He struck out four batters and elicited seven whiffs -- five on his pinpoint fastball. The Tigers’ offense was hitless against the Blue Jays’ bullpen day until the arm meant to provide the bulk of their innings, Michael Lorenzen, entered in the fourth. The 34-year-old journeyman nearly had a clean inning, but the Tigers staged a two-out rally. Lorenzen lost the zone, walking Riley Greene and Valencia. Max Clark slashed an RBI double down the left-field line, and Spencer Torkelson broke the game open by crushing a hanging sweeper for a three-run blast.
