Notes: Zimm sharp; Bonifácio brothers battle
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Before Sunday's start against his former club, Tigers right-hander Jordan Zimmermann told catcher Austin Romine he wouldn't shake off his gamecalling.
Zimmermann stuck to his word in his third spring start, tossing four scoreless innings in the Tigers' 7-5 win over the Nationals at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
"Talked before the game and Romy was like, 'I'm going to go in with the sink, I'm going to do this and this,'" Zimmermann said. "[I said], 'I'll tell you what: You just put your fingers down and I'll just throw it. We'll see what happens. If it goes bad, it's your fault.' It worked out well. It just felt like I was playing a nice easy game of catch. The numbers were really good today."
It didn't look that way early on for Zimmermann, who worked around a pair of walks and a trio of full counts in a 23-pitch first. Over his final two frames, he combined to throw 15 in a 52-pitch outing.
Though he didn't strike out a single batter, and his fastball maxed out at 90 mph (90.5 average in 2019 per Statcast), Zimmermann still managed to induce swings and misses, crediting late life to his pitches. He threw two-seamers into righties, and his sinkers were pulled to third baseman Jordy Mercer.
The sinker, which Zimmermann picked up halfway through last season, remains a priority this spring. The 33-year-old righty admitted to overthrowing it of late and needing to keep his front side calm so he wouldn't yank pitches. Zimmermann also is working on throwing it not only to his arm side but to his glove side.
"The ball was coming out of his hand OK," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Like you said, the velocity wasn't there, but here's a veteran guy who's working on stuff. He's constantly trying to work grips and make his slider turn into a cutter every once in a while rather than a big slider. I thought he worked with his pitches real good today. A veteran like him, throw the ball away to right-handers and make them hit it into that wind and make the lefties pull it into the wind. That's what a veteran knows how to do."
Battle of the Bonifacios
Non-roster invitee Jorge Bonifácio saw a familiar face in center field when he stepped up to the plate during Sunday's game: his older brother, Emilio Bonifácio, who is an NRI with the Nationals.
Emilio, 34, is trying to return to the Majors for the first time since 2017, while Jorge, 26, spent the last three years with the Royals before being released in November. He signed a Minor League deal with the Tigers two weeks later.
Jorge, who entered as a pinch-runner for Miguel Cabrera in the fifth inning, went 0-for-2. Emilio took over in center field for the Nationals in the top of the sixth and finished 0-for-2.
According to Jorge, Sunday marked the first time the brothers have played in the same game while in Major League uniforms. They had done so in the past during winter ball in the Dominican Republic.
"I was trying to hit something, a double over his head to joke with him a little bit," Jorge said.
Miggy returning to form
Cabrera continues to show signs he is back this spring, reaching in all three plate appearances on Sunday. But what encouraged Detroit's coaching staff most was how he got his hands through on a swing and pulled the ball on a first-inning double and fifth-inning single.
"We saw a swing earlier where he fouled a ball straight back and [bench coach Lloyd McClendon] said, 'We haven't seen that in a couple years,'" Gardenhire said.
Sleep is for the weary
Ten players who appeared in Saturday's exhibition in the Dominican Republic were part of the Tigers' travel squad to West Palm Beach: Jhon Nuñez, Brady Policelli, Sergio Alcántara, Brandon Dixon, Isaac Paredes, Daniel Pinero, José Azocar, Bonifacio, Derek Hill and Danny Woodrow.
The club got back to Lakeland, Fla., at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. The team bus departed at 7 a.m. ET on Sunday.
"A little bit [tired], but it's all mental," said Bonifacio, who homered in Saturday's game in his homeland. "Usually when the games start, we click. It's time to play now."
• Dominican players reflect on 'special' day
Up next
Left-hander Tarik Skubal, the Tigers' No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline, will make his first spring start at 1:05 p.m. ET on Monday against the Astros. He went two scoreless and hitless innings in his other Grapefruit League appearance. Listen to the game live on Gameday Audio.