NEW YORK — The last time Casey Mize hit a major league hitter in a regular season game, he got a glimpse of Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. in the outside corner of a 95 mph fastball. It was April 14, 2022, and Witt was playing in his sixth major league game.
Mize had no idea that night in Kansas City that it would be his last major league game in 721 days, with the last two days pending weather. conditions .And more. , when Mize unleashed a vicious 87-mph splitter to fan Pete Alonso in the first inning of Thursday afternoon’s 6-3 win over the Mets, the top pick in the 2018 MLB draft wasn’t for history or his surgical repaired elbow. or back.
He participated in the opener of the double bill at Citi Field.”I don’t know if there was a moment where I took it all in,” Mize said between games. “I don’t want to see anything as a finish line or that this thing is over, because it’s not. It goes on and on.”I’m very proud to be back here. This is of course a good crossing point in a really long and difficult process and I am proud of the work and the people. I owe a lot of people a lot of thanks for getting me back to where I am, but I think it would be a disservice to them if I took it all and did it once or whatever.
So I have to keep going and keep getting better. And I feel really good that I was able to do that.”That’s where Mize wanted to go all those months in rehab, a viable starter looking to win again. He would like to be more efficient, but his decision to allow five hits three times in 4 1/3 innings reflected his ability to control the damage and keep the Tigers close enough to come back and continue Detroit’s perfect start.Mize of course believes he has a lot more in his arsenal to help the team as the season progresses.
That was evidenced by his better individual games against the Mets, especially some gaps that negate his dominant college season. Auburn, who drafted him six years ago. He finished with back-to-back splits against Tyrone Taylor and DJ Stewart to end the second round and lead the third match, and his five hits on splits accounted for half of his 87-ton total despite hitting just under a quarter. his pitch selection.The splitter he threw to Mets cleanup hitter Francisco Alvarez later in the third was a little slower, a little flatter, and ended up being a two-run double into the left-field corner.
York ahead.Mize’s fastball was an equally mixed bag, with four walks and seven strikeouts, as well as a 108.7 mph groundball single, also by Alvarez.“I did some things today that I really, really liked. “, Mize said. “I think the break was a really good pitch for me. I really liked my fastball. I think I should have thrown [them] more than I did, but I felt like I got a little lucky, that led to — no wasted. pitches, but I felt like I could have gotten some batters earlier. with some fastballs. …”I feel like beyond scoring, I did some things today that I’m really happy with and looking forward to moving forward. “Considering this has been slow, some Tigers pitchers have come along in recent years. Coming back from Tommy John surgery, that’s a good sign. Manager A.J.
Hinch said at the start of the season that Mize’s only regulator would be his results — no. a set height limit or pitch count.That said. Relatedly, Pete Alonso’s 113.6 mph slider signaled Hinch’s transition to his bullpen. Joey Wentz allowed inherited runner Brett Baty’s single to score, but that was the Mets’ last hit of the game.Now Mize can be built. Not only is he a full member of Detroit’s rotation, but he’s part of a team that is starting for the first time in his career.”It’s not easy what he had to do, wait… – not just 48 hours, but about a two-year wait to get back into the big leagues in the regular season,” Hinch said. “So he showed a lot of emotion and I thought he played well.”.
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