Detroit — It was as rare a sight as you will ever see in the Tigers’ clubhouse.
Jake Rogers, who is a constant source of energy, hijinks and good vibes, win, lose or draw, sat stock-still at his locker after the Tigers’ 4-1 loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. He was hunched over. His head was down with his hands folded in front of him. Most of his teammates had showered and dressed and were heading back to the hotel.
Rogers was still at his locker when the media filed out.
“It was bad,” he said a day later.
For all his fun-lovingness off the field, Rogers is a fierce competitor and he holds himself to a high standard. He struck out twice and hit into a double play in his three at-bats Tuesday. At that point he was in a 2-for-14 rut. And even though his 106 OPS-plus is fourth highest on the team and his home total (13) and slugging percentage (.451) are second on the team, his .216 batting average gnaws at him.
The 0-for-3 in Pittsburgh, though, might have felt like bottom to him.
“I felt bad, just at the plate,” he said. “I felt lost. I was pissed off because I wasn’t having competitive at-bats for my team. But I came in (Wednesday) and flushed it.”
He didn’t start Wednesday, but he was summoned to pinch-hit in the eighth inning and smacked his first career pinch-hit homer. The smile was back.
“Just trying to find a barrel,” he said. “It felt good. I was just trying to put a good at-bat together. I was going to wait on a heater, but he hung a slider. So, it was good.”
There was some extra weight on Rogers going into the Pittsburgh series. With the trade deadline looming, he’d been forewarned that teams had been asking about him. Triple-A catcher Donny Sands was brought from Des Moines to Pittsburgh in case a trade went down.
“It was weird,” Rogers said. “I knew I had a chance (to be traded). AJ called me earlier in the week and was like, ‘Your name has been thrown around. Don’t be surprised.’ It was just one of those days. That day is always going to be a little weird.”
Rogers wasn’t looking for excuses, he was looking for atonement. And the home run Wednesday was a step in that direction.
“I told some of the guys and all of the coaches, like, sorry,” Rogers said. “That was just an unacceptable day. I just wanted to bounce back and start having good at-bats.”
Rays at Tigers
▶ First pitch: 1:10 p.m. Saturday, Comerica Park, Detroit
▶ TV/Radio: Bally Sports Detroit, 97.1.
Scouting report
▶ RHP Aaron Civale (5-2, 2.34), Rays: This couldn’t have been scripted any better for him. His first start with his new team is against a team he’s owned. In 10 starts against the Tigers with Cleveland, he’s 7-0 with a 2.06 ERA and 0.77 WHIP. In his last six starts before the trade, he was 3-0 with a 1.45 ERA, holding hitters to a .176 average.
▶ LHP Tarik Skubal (1-1, 4.57), Tigers: There’s nothing wrong with his stuff. He’s posted a 32% strikeout rate and a 34% chase rate. Opponents are hitting .194 off his 96-mph four-seamer and .176 off his slider. He’s getting 34.5% whiffs with his changeup. But he’s fallen victim to one wonky, crooked-number inning in two of his last three starts. In both of those innings, he’s struggled to overcome some bad-luck plays early in the inning.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky