Reese Olson was simply brilliant on Wednesday afternoon.
The 25-year-old righty threw a gem for the Detroit Tigers, holding the San Diego Padres to just two hits over 7⅓ innings in a 6-0 victory at Comerica Park.
That was the small picture.
But the big picture was just as good for the Tigers. They won two out of three against the Padres, who had come to Detroit as the hottest team in baseball.
But the Tigers (15-10) just keep winning:
- They have now won 15 of their last 22 games.
- They have won six of their first eight series for the first time since 2015.
- And they have won 10 of their first 13 home games for the first time since 2013.
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Olson pitches a gem
The first key for Olson was being efficient, getting through six innings on just 61 pitches and allowing just one hit while the Tigers held a 2-0 lead.
“When Reese is good, he is pounding the strike zone and being relentless with multiple pitches in the strike zone,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said before the game. “That’s what gets the chase on the breaking balls. That’s what gets the chase on the change up down below.”
That’s exactly what he did, throwing 21 of 25 first-pitch strikes.
Olson was under stress in the first inning, but not by his own doing. Fernando Tatis Jr. opened the game with a soft grounder to second base, which Gleyber Torres bobbled for an error. Then, Tatis advanced to second on a dropped third strike. So, the pressure started to climb but catcher Dillon Dingler wiped it away by throwing out Tatis trying to steal third when Andy Ibáñez had a great tag to end the inning.
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The other strange part of this game? The Padres used a lineup stacked with six righties.
“That changes his pitch mix a little bit, not a lot, but facing maybe a few more righties than what most teams throw at him,” Hinch said. “That will make the fastball command really important.”
It was almost like Hinch spoke it into existence. Olson was brilliant, but he also got some fantastic plays from Javier Báez, who made a pair of long runs in center. Baez caught a ball at the wall in the eighth inning that left Olson applauding on the mound. Olson received a standing ovation when he left with one out in the inning, having walked one with seven strikeouts.
Justyn-Henry Malloy getting right
On Tuesday afternoon, Hinch talked about the importance of jump starting Justyn-Henry Malloy. “Been trying to get J-Hen going,” Hinch said. “The quality at bat that comes with him, looking at the long haul, we need J-Hen to get back to being that contributor, getting on base.”
Malloy, who had been struggling through a 1-for-15 funk, got a single on Tuesday. Then, he homered on Wednesday — his first of the season — and added a double.
Dillon Dingler goes yard
Hinch has a goal for his catchers: catch a win and get a hit.
But Dingler added one more: He crushed his third homer of the season in the eighth inning.
Gleyber Torres making his mark
You just feel good when Torres is at the plate because he’s so consistent.
And he did some serious damage on Wednesday, setting the tone and jacking a first-inning homer.
“He demonstrates a very stable approach at the plate,” Hinch said. “On days he feels good, it’s very obvious. He’s the right amount of patient and aggressive. He hits the ball hard. He also knows the strike zone.”
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Hard-luck Tork
Spencer Torkelson has been getting robbed.
In the first game of this series, he crushed a ball which should have been a homer (based on exit velocity and launch angle) but it was knocked down by a strong wind. On Wednesday, he crushed a ball over the right-field fence … but he was robbed by right fielder Oscar González.
Flipping the starters
The Tigers have flipped the order of their starting rotation over the weekend against the Baltimore Orioles. Casey Mize will start on Friday and Jackson Jobe will get the start on Saturday.
It’s all an attempt to get Jobe as much rest as possible between starts in his first full season as a starting pitcher in the big leagues. It also gives him more time with pitching coach Chris Fetter. The switch doesn’t hurt Mize because the Tigers are off on Thursday, giving him an extra day of rest. So, it’s kind of a win-win for the Tigers.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
