ST. LOUIS – The Detroit Tigers hadn’t lost a series opener since Houston back in late April. They were 13-2 coming into their three-game series with the Cardinals.
Now they’re 13-3, mostly thanks to Sonny Gray, who apparently likes to pitch against the Tigers, and stifled them as St. Louis won 11-4.
The righty has faced the Tigers 10 times in his career and has posted a 2.68 in that time. It’s his best ERA against any American League team not named Kansas City.
Maybe it’s payback from the Game 5, 3-0 loss to the Tigers in the American League Divisional Series in 2013. Justin Verlander outpitched him.
Gray was the phenom then. Now he’s the vet, and while he’s been a touch uneven this season, he’s been solid, and it wasn’t surprising he flummoxed the Tigers.
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He allowed three hits over six innings and struck out 10. That’s all he needed before the rains came and delayed the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Tigers trailing 5-0.
Keider Montero, meanwhile, got the “start,” coming in for Sean Guenther in the first inning. A.J. Hinch “started” Guenther, a left-hander, to face Lars Nootbar, Masyn Winn and Brendan Donovan – both Nootbar and Donovan are left-handed hitters.
It didn’t quite work out as all three got hits. Montero wasn’t sharp either, but gave the super taxed bullpen a break, and managed to pitch 5⅔ innings. He allowed four runs on eight hits. He threw 98 pitches.
After a 34-minute rain delay, the Tigers gave up six runs in the seventh and might have given up more if not for catcher Tomas Nido saving the day by soft-tossing the Cardinals into submission.
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Dillon Dingler making a case
Winn hit a single to left field in the first inning, moving Nootbar to third base. The Cardinals figured they had something going. And they did, for a moment, and they might have had more if not for Dingler’s arm.
The Tigers catcher earned a roster spot this Spring in part because of his athleticism and defense, particularly his arm. His bat has been a welcome surprise. He was hitting .286 with four home runs before the Tigers’ opener against the Cardinals.
He ripped a double to the wall in the third inning, again showing his easy power. If he keeps this up he’ll give Hinch a few things to think about when Jake Rogers returns from his left oblique strain.
The Tigers will need both of them, obviously. And Rogers remains a savvy framer of the strike zone and has great chemistry with Tarik Skubal. But if Dingler’s bat stays like this, he should push for more a fair amount of those starts.
Hinch was asked if the split will be around 50-50 for Rogers and Dingler, and he was non-committal.
“It’ll play out how it’ll play out,” he said.
But that arm of Dingler was on display yet again Monday. In the first, after Winn singled, he took off for second in an attempt to steal. Dingler rose. Fired. And lasered a throw to Trey Sweeney on the first base side of second just as Winn began to slide.
Sweeney caught the ball and applied the tag. The Cardinals scored a run the next at-bat when Brendan Donovan singled home Nootbar. Yet Dingler’s arm saved a run.
The magic in center field continues
Speaking of saving runs, there is something about the center field spot for the Tigers this season. Parker Meadows, of course, is one of the best defenders in the sport. And after a few tries with Ryan Kreidler, among others, Javier Báez took a turn and took over the spot.
He’s been a revelation there. But he needed a rest, and Riley Greene slid back to the spot he used to patrol.
In the fourth, Victor Scott II hit a sharp, sinking line drive to straightaway center with runners at the corners and two outs. Greene got a good jump and dove forward to snag the ball a couple feet before it hit the grass.
The stellar play saved at least one run and might have saved more the way Montero was pitching.
Contact Shawn Windsor: [email protected]. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
