Detroit — The Tigers had two rookie runners thrown out on the bases Wednesday night while the game was still tied.
The way manager AJ Hinch saw it, one was a mistake of aggression, the other a lapse in judgment.
“They were very different,” he said.
Riley Greene led off the fifth inning beating out an infield single. He went to second on a slow-rolling ground ball by Victor Reyes. Javier Báez then hit a ground ball right at shortstop Adam Frazier, who must’ve been a little surprised to see Greene break for third.
He pivoted and threw him out.
“I think Riley made a critical error going on a ball in front of him,” Hinch said. “Easy play.”
Greene made it close enough to where the Tigers challenged the out call.
“We almost got it overturned,” Hinch said. “It was a swipe tag and it looked like he might’ve got his foot in. Little bit of a Hail Mary there.”
The call stood.
In the sixth inning, Kerry Carpenter followed up an Eric Haase single with a bullet through the shift and down the right-field line. The Tigers were looking at runners on the corners with one out in a 2-2 game.
Carpenter, though, tried to stretch the hit into a double and was thrown out on a strong throw by right fielder Mitch Haniger.
“A ball going away from second base, Haniger has to spin and throw it a couple hundred feet — that’s more of a base running out by aggression,” Hinch said. “That’s drastically different.”
The Tigers have lived with more than their fair share of both kinds of base-running outs this season. Of their 44 outs on the bases — not counting those picked off or caught stealing — 16 have been at home plate and 12 at third base.
In a season where run production has been down, those outs seem to cut deeper. The Tigers ended up losing the game to the Mariners 5-3.
Complete the process
What a play by Mariners left fielder Sam Haggerty.
In the seventh inning Thursday, his team up 6-0, he tracked a foul ball by Harold Castro toward the stands and then flew into the netting to make the catch. His dismount got a little tricky though, with his feet getting tangled, and the ball actually fell out of his glove when he landed on the ground.
“I was pretty much confused as to everything that happened,” Hinch said. “But with nobody out, that was an unbelievable effort. With guys on base, they would’ve advanced even it it was a catch.”
It was ruled a catch on the field. Hinch came out to talk to third base ump Gabe Morales.
“I couldn’t tell if it hit the net before he caught it, if it hit after or just what the continuation rule is,” Hinch said. “He didn’t voluntarily release the ball, but he had it for a long time if it didn’t hit the net.”
Hinch challenged the catch and replay ruled that Haggerty had trapped the ball in the netting. Castro was given a reprieve, though he struck out two pitches later.
Umpires do have discretion to rule whether the fielder completed the process of the catch, but this call didn’t get that far.
“It was an incredible effort,” Hinch said. “And about as athletic and graceful a fall as you could have coming off that net.”
Around the horn
To alleviate traffic around the ballpark with Lions and Tigers both playing, game times have changed for a couple of Sunday games at Comerica Park. The games on Sept. 18 and Oct. 2 have been moved from 1:10 p.m. starts to 12:10 p.m.
… The Tigers transferred right-handed pitcher Rony Garcia to the 60-day injured list Thursday to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Ryan Kreidler, who was called up from Toledo. Garcia has been out since July with a shoulder injury.
On deck: Royals
► Series: Three games at Comerica Park, Detroit
► First pitch: Friday — 7:10 p.m.; Saturday — 6:10 p.m.; Sunday — 1:40 p.m.
► TV/radio: All three games on Bally Sports Detroit/97.1 FM
► Probables: Friday — TBA vs. RHP Drew Hutchison (2-7, 4.01); Saturday — TBA vs. RHP Michael Pineda (2-6, 5.27); Sunday — TBA vs. RHP Matt Manning (1-2, 3.79).
SCOUTING REPORT
► Royals, TBA
► Hutchison, Tigers: Since 2015, Hutchison had thrown 88 innings in the big leagues, none in 2017, 2019 and 2020. This has been quite a bounce-back year for him. Friday will be his 13th start for the Tigers and he enters with 76.1 innings under his belt. Over his last six starts, averaging five innings, he’s posted a 2.84 ERA.
cmccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky