LOS ANGELES — The Detroit Tigers continue to be “super cautious” with second baseman Gleyber Torres, who was taken out of Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers because of sore ribs.
Torres was held out of the starting lineup for Saturday’s game against the Dodgers, and he was replaced by Colt Keith at second base. Spencer Torkelson, a first baseman who started the first two games of the season at designated hitter, started at first.
“We left last night with him out of the lineup,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said of Torres on Saturday afternoon. “He continues to be out of the lineup, and we will see how he feels throughout the day.”
Torres had been dealing with rib discomfort for several days and aggravated it after a home run on Friday night.
“Obviously he got more and more sore as the night went on,” Hinch said Saturday. “Then we'll see what he can tolerate (Saturday). With an off day (Sunday), we need to be smart. At the same time, we'll give him a chance to move around, do a few things inside and be super cautious with it, make sure that it doesn't develop into something more.”
Keith started at second base all of last season as a rookie. He was moved to first base during the offseason but did play in one game at second during spring training, preparing for this kind of scenario.
“We're definitely a versatile team,” Keith said. “We got some guys banged up, so we can go out there and make the best of it.”
In the clubhouse, Keith put on the glove he uses at second and it felt strange to him.
“It’s small,” he said, smiling. At least, it’s small compared to his first baseman’s mitt.
Keith has started the season 0-for-7; he said it’s because the game sped up on him.
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“The game definitely sped up from Lakeland until now with all the fans,” he said. “Obviously they just won a World Series, and obviously they got a lot of good players in that team, so it doesn't allow us to take many breaths.”
So, he his goal was to control his emotions on Saturday night.
“We got to lock in and make sure we calm the heart rate down in these games," he said. “So today, my goal is to slow it down, see the baseball, make sure I'm back on my approach.”
Out ... or still safe?
In the ninth inning Friday night, there was a critical, controversial play at the plate in a game the Dodgers went on to win 8-5 in 10 innings.
Tigers outfielder Manuel Margot was thrown out trying to score from first. Home-plate umpire John Tumpane initially ruled him safe, but a replay review overturned the call.
But Hinch doesn’t understand why it was ...
