Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize — the 2018 No. 1 overall pick — showcased the best performance of his five-year MLB career in his 63rd game.
And he could've been even better.
Mize guided the Tigers to a 4-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday in the second of three games in the series T-Mobile Park. He didn't allow a run, pitching into the sixth inning, allowing just one hit, racking up six strikeouts and generating whiffs on more than 40% of swings.
The only negatives: Mize didn't pitch deeper into the game, and he walked three batters. That's why he looked disappointed when he trotted to the dugout with two outs in the sixth inning, after manager A.J. Hinch took the ball.
But the Tigers (2-3) benefitted from Mize's dominance in his 82-pitch outing, blanking the Mariners' offense until right-handed reliever Beau Brieske gave up a run in the seventh inning. Later on, right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle picked up his first save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Mariners' only hit off the Tigers came on a leadoff single from Victor Robles against Mize in the first inning. One out later, Mize issued a four-pitch walk to Cal Raleigh. From there, he settled in, retiring 14 batters in a row before issuing a leadoff walk to J.P. Crawford in the sixth.
In the first, Mize stranded two runners in scoring position when he struck out Luke Raley swinging with a splitter at the bottom of the strike zone.
It was the lone threat from the Mariners.
Mize generated 15 whiffs on 35 swings, posting a 42.8% whiff rate with five fastballs, four sliders, five splitters, and one sinker. His splitter was especially effective — hitters swung at it seven times and missed it five times.
For reference, Mize had a 22% whiff rate last season that ranked in the 21st percentile among MLB pitchers.
Now, he's finally missing more bats.
And he's doing it at an elite rate.
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