Grapefruit League: Detroit Tigers (1-2) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (1-2)
When: 13:07
Where: TD Baseball Stadium in Dunedin, Florida.
TV: Nobody.
Radio: WXYT-AM (1270).
Weather forecast for the first stage: Sunny, 76 degrees.
Likely starting pitchers: Tigers LHP Joey Wentz (2-2, 3.03 ERA in 2022) vs Blue Jays RHP Chris Bassit (15-9, 3.42 ERA in 2022).
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Game Notes: One of the hardest things about trying to really compete in the AL East — potentially the toughest division in MLB yet again this season — is to constantly redesign your roster to keep up with Gotham’s goliaths, the New York Yankees. (Phuh, thank God, the Tigers don’t bother with it, especially after losing 8-5 on Monday.) The Yankees have added left-hander Carlos Rodon to their rotation and will get a full season of August deadline-picked Harrison Bader at center, all after he burst into the division crown seven games ahead of the Jays.
So Toronto has taken to the streets again, adding right-hander Chris Bassit to the middle of their rotation, Dalton Warshaw (27 homers with Arizona) and Kevin Kiermeier (three Golden Gloves) in outfield, and Brandon Belt (strength 30 homers when healthy, which he NEVER does) in DH. (They also took the public utility/tiger killer Whit Merrifield from the royal family at the exchange deadline, and apparently he is now fully vaccinated.)
Today, Bassitt will be the focus of the Tigers for at least a couple of innings. The Akron alum lived up to the brilliant deal that brought him to the New York Mets for the season by going 15-9, hitting 167 and going 49 in 181 2/3 innings. It didn’t quite live up to the standard he set in Oakland, finishing first in Al Cy Young’s top ten votes in 2020 and 2021, but he also didn’t get hit on the head with a batted ball, as he did in August 2021.so we’ll call it a win and move on.
TIGER BULLETIN:They should be hitting more homers this year, right?
The Tigers, meanwhile, would send rookie Joey Wentz to the mound for a couple of innings; Wentz, of course, is the latest organizational reminder of Doug (not Dog) Fister’s glory days. (Track chain: Fister to Washington for Robbie Ray in 2014; Ray to the Diamondbacks in a three-way deal that brought Shane Green from the Yankees in 2015; Green to the Brives at the 2019 trade deadline.) His 3.03 era is past the season is actually a bit misleading; after being bombed twice as a starter in May and spending some time at the IL, the southpaw returned in September and allowed just five earned runs in 26 innings, hitting 22 and passing 11.
With the Jays done, the Tigers return to Lakeland for a date with the Pirates to open the March. Meanwhile, the Jays head to Sarasota, Florida to take on the Orioles, who don’t have many players during the offseason.
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This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers vs. Toronto Blue Jays Spring Training Score: Time, TV
Source: sports.yahoo.com
