Baltimore — The Tigers’ clubhouse erupted, partly is shock, partly in sympathetic agony, when the Los Angeles Dodgers broke up former Tiger Drew Smyly’s bid for a perfect game in the eighth inning Friday in Chicago.
“Oh my God!,” several players said as Cubs catcher Yan Gomes collided with Smyly tracking an swinging-bunt hit rolled between the plate and the mound by David Peralta. It looked like Peralta might’ve beaten the play regardless, but once both players fell to the ground, it was over — infield single.
In another corner of the clubhouse, in the manager’s office, AJ Hinch was especially locked on to the game, though from a very different perspective.
“I feel for (Cubs manager) David Ross in that scenario,” Hinch said. “Because there is no easy way to navigate stuff like that, especially in April, especially nowadays with the microscope on pitch counts and what we do with health and how we handle pitchers.
“It’s tough to balance when you are chasing history.”
Hinch knows all about it. On June 25, 2010, he was managing the Arizona Diamondbacks when another former Tiger, Edwin Jackson, threw a 149-pitch no-hitter.
“It was probably the most stressful game I managed outside of a few Game 7s, because you want everything to work out perfectly,” he said. “You want the pitcher to get the opportunity and you want to win the game.”
Jackson walked eight batters in that game. And the Diamondbacks were clinging to a 1-0 lead from the second inning on. And, did we mention the pitch count? Jackson was at 70 pitches after three innings, on his way to 149.
“What a lot of people don’t know about Edwin Jackson’s no-hitter, I had a pitcher warming up for six of the nine innings,” Hinch said. “Just given the amount of traffic that was on the bases and his lack of command. He was one pitch away multiple innings in a row and it was a one-run game. Balancing wanting to win the game with wanting your player to earn history is tough.”
Hinch said he monitored Jackson’s next few starts closely to make sure there were no physical ramifications from the long, arduous outing.
“Then he signed a mega deal that offseason, which made me feel pretty good,” Hinch said, smiling.
So as Smyly was approaching 100 pitches entering the eighth inning, Hinch’s focus was as much on Ross as it was on Smyly.
“Yeah, it’s not an event I’m watching the same way a fan does or the same way someone who is covering it does,” he said. “We have to balance so many decisions that go on throughout the game. It feels like sometimes in this job that no matter what decision you make in the moment, it can potentially backfire.
“But I didn’t think it was going to end the way it did, with Yan Gomes tackling Smyly. Oddly enough, though, the guy who probably exhaled the most was David Ross.”
Awaiting a plan
Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows, who is on the injured list as he battles anxiety, did not travel with the team to this two-city trip (Baltimore-Milwaukee), though he was around the team during the homestand.
“We’re giving him space and we’re also giving him our support,” Hinch said. “We continue to wait for a definitive program on what activity level he’s going to be able to do. We’re in touch with him and his medical group, and with our medical group. We will continue to support him until he feels good enough to get back into the rhythm of the game and get more active.”
Meadows’ 10-day stint was back-dated to April 12, so he could be eligible to be activated Saturday. That’s obviously not going to happen. Meadows worked out every day during the homestand, but it’s mostly conditioning work.
“Not a lot (of baseball activity),” Hinch said. “Nothing that would make him able to play at the drop of a hat. There’s going to be a process in place. But we haven’t come to any conclusions yet.”
To this point, there’s been no discussion about putting Meadows on the 60-day IL, which would clear a roster spot.
Homecoming, sort of?
Tyler Nevin was with the Orioles the last two seasons, toggling between Triple-A Norfolk and Baltimore. It’s not enough time for this to be part of any revenge tour – even though the Orioles did essentially sell his services to the Tigers.
“This is where I spent all my big-league time until this year,” Nevin shrugged. “It was good to catch up with some of the guys that are still over there.”
He met up before the game with Terrin Vavra and Adley Rutschman.
“When I was traded here (from Colorado in 2020), they really helped me realize my strength,” Nevin said. “They opened my eyes to the strengths that I have as far as pitch recognition, grinding out at-bats and things like that – stuff I didn’t even realize.
“They provided some good tools to make me a better player.”
Nevin wasn’t in the lineup Friday, but another former Oriole was – Jonathan Schoop.
Around the horn
…Hinch said that lefty Eduardo Rodriguez would get the start against the Orioles in the finale on Sunday. Lefty Matthew Boyd will start the first game in Milwaukee on Monday. With the off-day Thursday and the rainout last Sunday, both were on turn to pitch Sunday.
…Miguel Cabrera is going to miss hitting at Camden Yards. The Tigers’ retiring designated hitter entered play Friday with a career .293/.383/.541 slash-line here, with 12 homers and 42 RBIs. He’s going to miss hitting Orioles’ pitching, in general – his career slash-line against the Orioles is .360/.444/.678 with 27 homers and 80 RBI in 85 games.
Tigers at Orioles
▶ First pitch: 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Camden Yards, Baltimore
▶ TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit, 97.1. FM
Scouting report
▶ LHP Joey Wentz (0-2, 6.39), Tigers: Wentz, on the whole, has been pounding the strike zone. He has a 63% strike rate and a 63% first-pitch strike rate. And yet, he has walked six hitters in 12.2 innings, an 11% walk rate. For as good as his stuff has been (.229 opponent’s batting average), he’s not getting a lot of chase (26%), swing and miss (26%) or punch-outs (18.5%).
▶ RHP Kyle Gibson (3-0, 4.18), Orioles: This will be the former Twin’s 25th start against the Tigers, and yet with all the changes in Detroit, it’ll be like facing a new foe. The 3-0 start has been aided by the Orioles’ scoring 22 runs in those three starts. He hasn’t had much success against left-handed hitters thus far (.368/.429/.632 with an OPS against of 1.00). He’s still a six-pitch mix with a 92-mph four-seam and sinker that play up because of the 6.9-foot extension on his delivery.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter@cmccosky