After a grueling 15 inning loss on Tuesday, the Detroit Tigers looked lifeless against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jordan Zimmermann was not good, and the silent Tigers offense made struggling Phillies starter Vince Velasquez look amazing, as they were shut out 4-0 and swept again at Comerica Park.
Zimmermann wasn’t as bad as he has been recently in this one. He managed to keep the Phillies off the board until the fourth inning, giving up three hits and striking out three in that span. In the fourth, he surrendered a solo home run to Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Alas in the fifth things fell apart. Zimmermann gave up a leadoff home run to Nick Williams, then after a one-out single, threw wildly on a pickoff attempt. He then gave up a double, a walk, and a single to end his day. His final line was not pretty, but not as ugly as some of his recent starts: 4.1 IP, 8H, 4ER, 1 BB, 3 SO.
Meanwhile, the Tigers could not figure out Velasquez. When they last faced him in April, they chased him at 99 pitches in 3 2⁄3 innings (6H, 3ER, 3BB, 7K). Wednesday’s game was much different, as the Tigers were unable to score off him the entire afternoon. Velasquez was lifted with two outs in the sixth due to a high pitch count, 110 pitches — a season high for him.
The Tigers were only able to put pressure on him a couple times. In the fourth inning, Brandon Dixon singled and was originally called out on a steal attempt of second. Replay would overturn the call, but it did not matter as Velasquez struck out the next two batters to end the inning. They would again put pressure on him in his final inning, but they could not make anything happen on a two out small rally. Velasquez’s final line was strong, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 9 SO.
And that’s really it as far as plays went. Neither team was able to score or do much the rest of the game. Gregory Soto pitched a strong final three innings, but the Tigers could not do anything against the Phillies bullpen. With the win the Phillies completed the sweep of the Tigers at home.
Stats of the game
Here are some depressing stats with today’s loss
- The Tigers were shutout for the 10th time this year.
- The loss dropped the Tigers record at home to 13-36.
- In their past 32 home games, the Tigers are 4-28.
- The Tigers have been swept at home eight times this year.
Poll
Who Was the Player of the Game?
This poll is closed
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62%
Gregory Soto
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28%
Brandon Dixon
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8%
Niko Goodrum