Mize K's 10, but can't overcome early Phillies rally

DETROIT -- For five batters, the Phillies couldn’t miss against Casey Mize. Then the Tigers starter kept them missing.

Make any sense? Neither, in many ways, did Mize’s outing in Monday’s 8-1 Tigers loss at Comerica Park.

For a pitcher who has spent a good chunk of his return season from Tommy John surgery seeking more swings and misses, Mize’s 10 strikeouts were eye-opening, topping his previous career high of seven. His career-best 19 swinging strikes were spread out across his arsenal -- six each on his four-seam fastball and slider, and five more on his splitter. Putting up that kind of deception without walking a batter fit the Tigers’ organizational mantra of dominating the strike zone.

“I’ve been trying to have better execution, even better execution on the misses, just over the plate to make the hitters think about them a little longer, which allows the fastball to play better in the zone,” Mize said. “So I think tonight was a better job.”

The downside, and Mize’s downfall, came when the Phillies made contact.

Five batters reached safely, and four scored, before Mize recorded an out. All nine hits off Mize were either line-drive singles or went for extra bases. The same fastball and slider that left Phillies hitters whiffing also averaged 92.2 and 96.2 miles per hour exit velocity, respectively, on eight balls put in play.

“This is a really tough lineup, the way they grind at-bats, the way they make you get them out in multiple ways,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “They don’t have huge holes, and they make you earn it, so you’re going to have to be creative.”

The result was a pitching line as bizarre as the outing. No MLB pitcher had posted double-digit strikeouts and no walks while allowing nine or more hits in less than five innings since Mize’s Monday night counterpart, Aaron Nola, did it on June 30, 2021. No Tiger had done it in franchise history, according to research on baseball-reference.

“The thing that I value the most is runs and innings,” Mize said. “When I have a career-high strikeout game and give up four [runs] … it doesn’t matter. The scoreboard wasn’t good … and we lost the game because of it.”

Philly’s first five batters showed the dangers of relying on balls in play. What looked like a routine grounder to short from Kyle Schwarber turned into a Zach McKinstry error. Trea Turner blooped a double into shallow right field, just inside the foul line. Bryce Harper scored both of them by crushing a fastball to right-center at 111.3 mph, then Alec Bohm hit a hanging 2-0 slider deep to left for a two-run homer and a 4-0 Phillies lead.

Once former Tiger Nick Castellanos turned on Mize’s 0-2 curveball for a line-drive single, Mize -- just 15 pitches in -- seemed in danger of not making it out of the first inning. But Mize retired nine of Philly’s next 11 batters, seven by swinging strikeout. The Phillies continued hacking, but Mize picked up some deception while picking at the corners.

“Just kept trying to execute pitches,” Mize said, “but I don’t think my stuff just got magically better after the first four hitters. I think it was just unfortunate how the game started.”

Mize recorded just three outs on balls in play. His only groundout was a Turner comebacker to end the fourth inning. He joined Rick Porcello on May 16, 2012, as the only Tigers in the pitch-count era to record 10 outs or fewer over 100 pitches or more without walking a batter. In Porcello’s defense, he too suffered from spotty fielding, with four errors behind him.

Somehow, Mize needs to take the swing-and-miss stuff into his next outing, likely against the Angels next Sunday, and bring it from the outset. His 11 first-inning runs are the most he’s allowed in any inning this season, and opponents entered Monday batting .329 with an .888 OPS against his first 25 pitches of a game.

“I know early it’s been kind of tough to get into the game a little bit for me,” Mize said. “But from pitch one, I’m trying to shove the ball in the strike zone and execute pitches at a really high level. It’s not like I’m just easing into the game, mentally or physically. I feel really focused from pitch one. Obviously you’re going to see the better hitters in the first inning, so I just need to be better.”