It’s not that Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch is greedy.
Well, maybe he’s a little bit greedy.
“We want to be a good team,” Hinch said. “And to be a good team, you have to do it all.”
The Tigers will look for another strong all-around performance when they take on the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. Detroit is aiming to complete a three-game sweep.
Everything is clicking for the Tigers, who have won seven of their last eight games and nine of 11. Detroit already has one series sweep this season.
Hinch said his players have shown a great work ethic and are focused on the fundamentals. That approach often brings rewards, he said, such as when Spencer Torkelson ripped a two-run homer in the sixth inning Saturday to cap the scoring in Detroit’s 4-0 win.
“Delivering the big blow is nice, obviously,” Hinch said. “(Torkelson’s) ball separated us and gave us a little bit of breathing room. But it took the good at-bats before that to put us in position. We continue to preach good at-bats, and it’s a good message. And it’s good the players are all in.”
As the Tigers look to continue a hot start, the Twins are searching for solutions.
Minnesota has lost 11 of its first 15 games, including six of its past seven. The Twins have struggled at the plate for much of the season.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli hinted that the front office and coaching staff could make changes involving personnel and playing time if the poor play persists.
“You’ve got to shock yourself sometimes and wake yourself up sometimes,” Baldelli said. “We might be pretty close to that because we’ve got to play better baseball. …
“I think we could be getting there, where we need to make some adjustments, we need to do some different things, try some guys in different spots. That could be one way of shaking it up a little bit.”
The first shakeup could come Sunday. The Twins reportedly demoted Jose Miranda to Triple-A St. Paul and activated Brooks Lee from the injured list on Saturday. Lee sustained a back injury during spring training but recently started a minor league rehabilitation assignment.
Miranda is hitting .167 through 12 games and made a baserunning blunder in Saturday’s game. With the Twins down by four runs in the eighth, Miranda led off with a pinch-hit single. With one out, Christian Vazquez hit a grounder that looked like a fielder’s choice force at second, but the ump ruled that the second baseman didn’t touch the base and called Miranda safe. Not realizing he was safe, Miranda began to walk off the field and was tagged out.
His demotion reportedly occurred about an hour after the game.
Tigers right-hander Casey Mize (2-0, 0.77 ERA) is set to make his third start. Mize pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Seattle Mariners in his season debut, and he held the New York Yankees to one run on four hits in six innings in his second start. He walked three and struck out six in each start.
In seven career starts against Minnesota, Mize is 1-3 with a 5.12 ERA.
Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (0-1, 5.59) also will make his third start. He gave up two runs in four innings against the Chicago White Sox in his season debut, and he allowed four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Kansas City Royals.
Woods Richardson has made three career starts against the Tigers. He is 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA, and he has walked five and struck out 12 in 16 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
