Evan PetzoldDetroit Free Press
The Detroit Tigers looked lifeless in front of 24,152 fans in their return to Comerica Park, losing 10-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers in Friday's opener of a three-game series.
It was a bad loss by a mediocre team.
Right-hander Reese Olson surrendered eight runs on 12 hits, the offense recorded two hits, the infield defense made an inexcusable mistake in the second inning and position player Zach McKinstry pitched in the ninth inning.
"I think I made some good pitches that were able to find holes," said Olson, who lasted just four innings. "As a whole, I'm not really happy with my performance. Combined maybe a little bit of bad luck with some poorly executed pitches, all in one inning. It kind of unraveled on me."
The Tigers (31-32) have been outscored 19-1 (with four hits) in their past two games. McKinstry pitched in both of the games, first in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 9-1 loss to the Texas Rangers and then again in Friday's blowout loss.
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McKinstry was effective, but Olson was not.
Making his 12th start of the season, Olson gave up five runs on six hits in the second inning and four runs on six hits in the fourth inning. The 24-year-old has allowed 13 runs across his past two starts, sending his ERA from 1.92 to 3.43.
"Flush it," Olson said. "I've been pretty good up until this point. I'll look back at maybe what I can improve on, but for the most part, flush this one and move on."
The Brewers traded Olson, then a prospect, for left-handed reliever Daniel Norris at the 2021 trade deadline. The trade is considered one of the best moves in Al Avila's seven-year tenure (2015-22) as Tigers general manager.
"We hated losing him," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "That was an agonizing trade. Everybody was so high on the kid, and he's got a great future."
The Brewers spoiled Olson's opportunity for revenge.
"No, none," Olson said, when asked how much extra emotion he carried into Friday's matchup against his old organization. "Another ballgame, trying to go out there and do my job."
The Brewers tallied six hits against Olson's fastball, four hits off his changeup, one hit off his slider and one hit off his sinker. Olson finished with one walk and six strikeouts across four innings, throwing 89 pitches.
Three of the four hits on the changeup were changeups Olson hung near the middle of the strike zone, rather than locating them around the bottom rail of the zone.
"From my angle, it didn't look like he was that bad," manager A.J. Hinch said. "I know he fell behind hitters, which is not ideal. Their at-bats were really impressive against him on all pitches. We'll take a look at it, but I certainly didn't feel like he was ever lost or ever not in a good place, other than the action that was going on and the damage he was giving up."
While the Brewers had 16 hits, the Tigers countered with two hits of their own, one at the beginning and one at the end. Matt Vierling hit a leadoff single in the first inning and McKinstry singled in the ninth.
For the Brewers, right-hander Tobias Myers tossed eight scoreless innings on one hit and three walks with five strikeouts, throwing 100 pitches. Right-handed reliever James Meeker, making his MLB debut, kept the Tigers from scoring in the ninth.
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A sloppy mistake
The Brewers scored their fifth run of the game on a steal from Christian Yelich with runners on the corners and two outs in the second inning.
Catcher Carson Kelly threw down to second base, but nobody was covering the bag, which allowed the lead runner — Brice Turang —to score easily. Second baseman Colt Keith fielded the ball on a bounce behind second base.
"Miscommunication," Hinch said. "We didn't execute the play. We'll clean that up."
Cheering for Zach McKinstry but nobody else
The Brewers added their final two runs in the fifth inning against right-handed reliever Beau Brieske. The Tigers used three relief pitchers before McKinstry: Brieske, right-hander Will Vest and left-hander Tyler Holton.
"We have the off day on Monday," Hinch said, when asked about the status of the bullpen, "and Holton's single-digit inning helps. Our guys can bounce back. (Mason) Englert and (Joey) Wentz should be back, or at least one of them, tomorrow, and we're confident with Casey (Mize) going on the mound."
In the ninth, McKinstry took over on the mound for the second time in as many games and for the fourth time in his MLB career. He retired all three batters he faced: Rhys Hoskins (flyout), Jake Bauers (pop out) and Joey Ortiz (groundout).
McKinstry received a standing ovation from the fans as he walked from the mound to the dugout. The fans booed Javier Báez —hitting .181 with a .455 OPS after finishing 0-for-3 with one strikeout —several times throughout the blowout loss.
Riley Greene isn't part of the problem, but he hasn't carried the Tigers on offense since a stretch of success from mid-April through early May.
Dating to May 5, Greene is hitting .205 with three home runs, nine walks and 38 strikeouts across 29 games. The Tigers typically struggle on offense as a team whenever Greene's performance on offense lacks consistent success.
"There's a little bit of miss in there right now," Hinch said of Greene, who finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. "He showed a little bit of frustration tonight. I know he has a little bit of miss in there. He's got a lot of damage in it. He'll be fine. Finding ways to move the ball forward whenever you're not feeling perfect are going to be key development points, but he's going to be right back in there tomorrow. I have full confidence in him."
Contact Evan Petzold atepetzold@freepress.comor follow him@EvanPetzold.
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