Casey Mize produced two quality starts against the New York Yankees last season.
The right-hander will look to duplicate those feats when the Detroit Tigers host the Yankees in the middle contest of a three-game series on Tuesday night.
Mize faced the Yankees in April last year and gave up one run and four hits over six innings of a 6-2 victory. He matched up against the Yankees again in September and held them to two runs and four hits in six innings while notching eight strikeouts in a 12-2 win.
Health issues have prevented Mize from getting into a normal routine over the last two months. He’s been on the injured list twice during that span due to right adductor/groin strains.
Mize (2-4, 2.58 ERA) returned from his second IL stint on Wednesday against the Houston Astros. He allowed three runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings of a 4-2 loss.
“I got myself in some tough counts,” he said. “That was probably the biggest thing. It wasn’t about pitch selection or usage. Just a lot of three-ball counts, that was the issue. I feel like I went 0-2 to 3-2 and they reached base, which is frustrating. That’s been unlike me.
“Just a little out of whack. Not super pleased with my strike-throwing (Wednesday). Tough counts lead to tough outcomes.”
Mize is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA in four career starts against the Yankees. This season overall, he generally has been effective, notching five quality starts in 10 outings. A pair of his starts were abbreviated by his injuries.
Mize will oppose Carlos Rodon (3-2, 3.50 ERA). The left-hander has won his last two starts, though he required 99 pitches to get through five innings against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday in a 10-5 victory.
“I’m just trying to go out there and attack the zone, try to get outs,” Rodon said. “Just try to keep us ahead and go as deep as I can.”
Rodon gave up three runs and seven hits while striking out seven and throwing a season high in pitches.
“His stuff was really good,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Fastball (had) life, good profile to it. Secondary (pitches were) good. Got into a little bit of trouble; they made him work. … They were able to get some guys on base to make it challenging and pressure him but he made enough pitches, had some swing and miss.”
Rodon has started 15 times during his career against the Tigers, posting a 6-6 record and a 5.44 ERA.
The Yankees have lost three games in a row and four of their last five, including the series opener to Detroit on Monday, 5-3. The Tigers scored five runs off Gerrit Cole in winning their fourth straight game.
Paul Goldschmidt continued his hot hitting for New York with two singles for his eighth multi-hit game this month. He’s batting .293 with an OPS of .898 for the season. That includes 12 homers, two more than he produced in 146 games last season.
“It wasn’t like I played horrible; I thought I did some good things last year,” Goldschmidt said. “There’s a lot of time left in the season. I’ve tried, honestly, to not even focus on the stats. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I want to go out and prove I can play.’ It was just that I want to try to help us win, in whatever the role is.”
–Field Level Media
