Casey Mize gave up three home runs Monday in his most recent outing, but it actually was an encouraging performance.
The Detroit Tigers right-hander will make his next start in the home series finale against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon.
Mize (10-4, 3.50 ERA) didn’t last more than four innings in his previous three starts. On Monday, he allowed just one other hit and didn’t walk a batter in an efficient, 67-pitch outing against Minnesota while collecting his 10th win.
“It’s conflicting emotions for me,” Mize said. “Did some better things. I started to command the fastball better as the game went on, and I’m pleased with that. I commanded the slider really well, too. Just made mistakes with the splitter, and that’s what really frustrates me. When I throw that pitch where I want, I’m getting really positive results. But I’m leaving it over the heart of the plate too much right now.”
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch elected to dwell on the positive.
“Casey did his job,” Hinch said. “If you start the day and say you’re going six innings with three runs or less, it’s a good day.”
Mize is 2-0 with a 3.80 ERA in four career starts against the Angels.
Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (3-9, 5.85) will start for the Angels on Sunday. He got roughed up early by the Chicago White Sox in his last outing, giving up four first-inning runs last Sunday. He hung around for six innings, allowing just one more run as the Angels won 8-5.
“I think I got a good, consistent feeling going back to the back half of that (last start),” Kochanowicz told The Orange County Register. “I know what I need to do mentally, to just go in and start it the right way.”
Walks have been a major issue for him. He’s issued 53 in 104 2/3 innings, which is one reason why he received a Triple-A demotion last month.
He allowed only one walk in those last five innings, and his teammates bailed him out with a walk-off victory over the White Sox.
“We try to be machines out there,” Kochanowicz said. “That’s the toughest part, to try to go out and there and feel exactly the same as I did last time. That’s the toughest part of it. But I feel good. I had a good (bullpen session) this week.”
He’s faced the Tigers twice in his two-year career, going 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA.
“I think we saw later in that start his last time out about changing speeds and spinning the ball a little bit and creating deception even to his best pitch,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “He’s going to have to keep going through it. He’s going to have to learn to keep turning lineups over multiple times. It’s part of the process.”
The Angels and Tigers have split the first two games of the series.
Detroit rallied for a 6-5 win on Friday before Los Angeles responded with a 7-4 victory on Saturday. Taylor Ward led the Angels’ offense with three hits in the latter game, including a go-ahead, two-run homer.
–Field Level Media
