Much has been made of the Javier Báez experience.
This season in Detroit, it’s seen a lot of big hacks at the plate, paying off with a team-best 49 RBIs for an offense that’s struggled mightily. Then, there’s that dazzling defensive talent — faltering for a league-worst 22 errors heading into Tuesday night.
Like it or not, the high highs and low lows of that experience were the crux of the Tigers’ 5-4 extra-innings loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night. Báez (2-for-5, three RBIs, one run scored) was involved in all of Detroit’s scoring plays as the Tigers scraped to their first lead of the game in the 10th inning.
But Báez’s 23rd error of the year, an off-target toss to try and throw out Taylor Ward at the plate, led to another tie in the 10th — one the Tigers (51-85) would never get a chance to break after Magneuris Sierra’s walk-off safety squeeze.
BOX SCORE: Angels 5, Tigers 4 (10 inn.)
In a postgame interview with Bally Sports Detroit, Tigers manager AJ Hinch’s voice cracked when describing the disappointment of the loss. While he admitted there were positives along the way, the end result was far from what was desired.
“Right now, it feels pretty hollow,” he told Bally Sports Detroit.
Eduardo Rodriguez (seven innings, five hits, three earned runs) was one of those positives, recovering from some early mistakes to draw soft contact down the stretch and retire the final 11 batters he faced in his longest start of the season. In particular, Rodriguez’s command was as good as it’s been all season, issuing no walks for the first time since his night against the Dodgers on May 1.
It was all Los Angeles in the early going, with Mike Trout hitting a one-out home run to center field on the first pitch he saw from Rodriguez in the first inning. Then, after Angels starter Mike Mayers put the Tigers down in order in the top of the second, Mike Ford and Jo Adell hit back-to-back solo home runs of their own to put the Angels up 3-0 in the second.
The Tigers broke through for their first run of the series in the fourth, with Báez reaching on an infield single and advancing to second on Harold Castro’s groundout. Spencer Torkelson promptly singled up the middle to score Báez and make it 3-1 as Rodriguez started to turn the tide against the Angels.
“He (Rodriguez) did a lot of nice things to keep us where it was at,” Hinch told Bally Sports Detroit. “They ambushed him early. … He was able to settle in pretty nicely and get pretty deep in the game for how it started.”
Willi Castro led off the sixth with a double to center field before reaching third on a passed ball. With a runner in prime scoring position, Báez grounded out to third and scored Castro to make it 3-2, ending the night for Mayers (5⅔ innings, four hits, two earned runs).
After a scoreless seventh, Jose Quijada drilled Willi Castro in the thigh with a fastball in the eighth. Victor Reyes subsequently bounced a double within the right-field line to put runners on second and third with one out and Báez due up to face Jimmy Herget.
Báez came through once again with another groundout to score Willi Castro and knot the game at 3. Angels manager Phil Nevin opted to intentionally walk Harold Castro to get Torkelson, who struck out swinging to close the frame.
Alex Lange entered in relief of Rodriguez in the eighth, striking out Adell before walking Matt Thaiss. In a pressure situation, the Tigers stood tall with yet another critical defensive stand as Báez and Harold Castro turned two off David Fletcher’s groundout to end the inning.
In the ninth, Ryan Tepera put the Tigers down in order in the ninth before Joe Jimenez muscled his way past Trout and Shohei Ohtani, gave up a two-out single to Luis Rengifo and induced a flyout from Ward to send the game to extras.
Eric Haase, pinch-hitting for Akil Baddoo, led off the 10th with a single to advance automatic runner Kody Clemens to third with no outs. However, Tepera quickly recovered to induce a pop out from Willi Castro and struck out Reyes — bringing Báez back up in another scoring situation.
After taking two deep cuts on pitches outside the strike zone, Báez delivered on a hit-and-run to score Clemens and give the Tigers a 4-3 lead, their first of the game.
But in a game where the Tigers’ defense rose to the occasion time and time again, Báez’s attempt to throw out Ward in the 10th sailed away from Haase at the plate, tying it at 4.
Two batters later, Sierra successfully pulled off the safety squeeze to bring Andrew Velazquez home, securing a 5-4 walk-off win for the Angels and a fourth straight loss for the Tigers.
Sean Reider is a freelance writer.