The Detroit Tigers showed off their power in the opener of a three-game home series against the Washington Nationals on Monday. They’ll look for more long balls in the middle game of the series on Tuesday.
The Tigers (74-83) blasted three homers in a 9-2 victory vs. the Nationals (73-84), including a three-run shot from rookie Ben Malgeri.
Right-hander Drew Anderson (5-6, 3.62 ERA) will start for the Tigers. Despite some control issues, Anderson tossed five scoreless innings at Toronto in his last outing a week ago. He walked three but gave up only two hits while notching his first victory since July 23rd.
Left-hander Jackson Kent (1-4, 6.40 ERA) will get the starting nod for Washington. The 23-year-old rookie left-hander will be making his eighth start since his promotion last month. He allowed three runs and four hits in five innings against Philadelphia last Tuesday. He walked three and struck out four while throwing 88 pitches.
A pair of those walks came in the first inning, which led to a Phillies run.
“After that first inning, I thought he did a really good job of settling back in and getting us a pretty good outing against a really tough lineup,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said.
His strike throwing improved from that point.
“They really don’t chase a lot, and they’re gonna make me work,” Kent said. “So that’s what they did, and just found a way to get through it.”
In his previous outing, Kent allowed five runs in three innings at San Diego.
“It was better than the last one, for sure,” Kent said of his start against the Phillies.
Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle, the favorite to win the American League Rookie of the Year award, was rested in the series opener on Monday but will likely return to the top of the lineup on Tuesday.
McGonigle is batting .274 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs while scoring 95 runs. His batting eye is so keen that he’s walked 94 times while striking out just 92 times. It’s very rare to find any player with more walks than strikeouts these days, not to mention a 22-year-old rookie.
“It’s a cool stat but I try to keep my eyes off the board as much as possible and not look too deep into it,” McGonigle said.
McGonigle, a left-handed hitter, has a line drive stroke that should produce more long balls in future seasons.
“He’s got a lot of room to grow and that’s the scary part for the American League. He’s not a finished product yet,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
–Field Level Media
