The Tigers’ bullpen has been a mixed bag all season, but lately it’s showing a little more life in some unexpected places.
Detroit still sits third in the American League in bullpen ERA and WHIP, which looks solid on paper. But that ranking comes with a catch: the Tigers also lead the league with 26 blown leads.
A lot of that top-tier ERA has been built in the kind of games that tilt hard and early, when those 8-0 and 7-1 wins make the numbers look cleaner than the day-to-day reality. Even so, the relief group has steadied some recently.
Kenley Jansen has been settling into the ninth inning, and Tyler Holton has been better too, with the exception of a rough outing against the White Sox. Then there’s Drew Sommers, who is giving A.J. Hinch something the bullpen badly needs right now: strikeouts.
Sommers worked the Tigers out of trouble Monday, Aug. 17, in the opener against the Pirates, then did the same in San Francisco in the series finale, helping Detroit pull out an extra-inning win. More importantly, he’s throwing strikes now. That’s the big change.
“The biggest step forward for him is he’s been a strike thrower - a dominant strike thrower,” said Hinch. “Not only on Pitch 1, but overall in his ability to get it over the plate.
It’s a tough look for guys. They don’t pick up the ball and as his stuff has ticked up, the leverage on the hitter has gone through the roof.”
And?
“Once you get leverage on a hitter, you get more swing-and-miss; you get more punch outs, a lot better outcomes.”
Sommers struck out three Monday night, and his whiff rate sits at 34.1%, a number that stands out on a staff short on swing-and-miss relievers. He’s also trimmed the walks, which Hinch said has made a big difference.
Hinch pointed to the seeing-eye single against the White Sox as the main blemish.
“Other than that, he’s been pretty flawless,” he said. “There’s a walk in there every now and then, but not near at the clip as it was when he first got up here (last season). Again, letting these guys grow up and learn and settle in ... it’s an important lesson.”
There was another milestone Monday night, this one for rookie infielder Hao-Yu Lee. He went 3-for-3 and picked up his 55th Major League hit, passing former Taiwanese big leaguer Yu Chang for the most hits by a Taiwanese player.
The connection between the two runs back to when Lee was a high schooler in Taiwan and Chang came to a Nike camp. Lee told him he’d see him in five years.
That timeline came and went, and now Lee has the record.
“I didn’t really feel anything,” Lee said of the record-breaking hit. “My role is not to be the best Taiwanese player; I want to be a great player in America.”
On the injury front, Kerry Carpenter’s return is still on hold. Hinch said Carpenter recently saw a foot specialist and needs more time to recover from plantar fasciitis, so the Tigers are pausing his rehab.
Detroit remains hopeful he can come back before the end of the season. Carpenter has been on the 10-day injured list since July 27.
There was also roster movement involving Trei Cruz, who cleared waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo. James Outman and Wenceel Perez are in Toledo as well while they work back from a concussion and an orbital bone injury, respectively, though neither is expected to play in games there.
Brant Hurter will make a rehab start in Toledo as he continues back from lumbar spine inflammation. He has been on the injured list since May.
And one more small shift: catcher Dillon Dingler was scheduled to get Tuesday night off, his first non-start since early July.
In Other News...
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It also reopens a familiar Tigers debate about game management and how different managers handle their starters. The pitch count philosophy in Detroit was not the same as what Skubal has experienced in Los Angeles, and the difference is hard for fans to ignore when they compare the two stops side by side. Even without a final answer attached, the discussion says plenty about how one of the franchises most important arms is being used, and how that choice still resonates back home. [Read more 🡒]
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A.J. Hinch said Carpenter has been sent to see a foot specialist, which only adds to the uncertainty around how quickly this can turn around. The Tigers do have other players available to cover Carpenters spot in the lineup for now, but the broader question is whether they can absorb the loss without it becoming a problem that lingers deeper into the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]
Max Clark May Be Settling In Faster Than The Tigers Expected
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The shift has helped his hitting performance, and it has also offered a glimpse of why the Tigers are so encouraged by him. AJ Hinch has praised Clarks baseball intelligence and his ability to adapt, a combination that can make the difference for a young player trying to settle in against big-league arms while still learning what works best for him. [Read more 🡒]