Keider Montero's Detroit Tigers roster push takes hit in 4-0 loss to New York Yankees
LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers lost, 4-0, against the New York Yankees on Friday night at Joker Marchant Stadium.
Detroit is 12-12 in Grapefruit League play.
What happened
Right-hander Keider Montero, who is fighting to make the Opening Day roster, got the start for the Tigers and had some good moments. But it started off bad for him.
Montero was ambushed early by the Yankees. Austin Wells crushed a leadoff homer 376-feet to right — the first homer Montero has given up this spring — then Ben Rice lifted a double off the left-field wall. But Montero settled down and fought his way out of it, limiting the damage.
Montero shut down the Yankees the rest of the way, pitching 4⅓ innings, not allowing another run. Overall, he gave up some loud contact and could have thrown more strikes, but he maneuvered his way around most trouble.
"He was spraying the ball a little bit early, then he settled in, which is something that we've seen out of hima lot," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "Once he catches rhythm and timing in his delivery, you start to see a lot better execution."
On the mound
The top three spots in the Tigers rotation are settled: left-hander Tarik Skubal, and right-handers Jack Flaherty and Reese Olson.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch announced on Friday that Kenta Maeda will move to the bullpen, which means Montero and righties Casey Mize and Jackson Jobe are fighting for the other two spots in the rotation.
Mize has been impressive, striking out 18 with seven walks, eight hits and two earned runs over 16 innings.
Jobe has thrown 12⅓ innings, giving up five runs with eight strkeouts and four walks — although he recently threw a simulated game in Lakeland with no stats available. Hinch said that Jobe was not particularly sharp in that outing, although some of that might have been pitch sequencing.
Montero came into this game with 13 strikeouts and five walks in 9⅔ innings.
The one thing that seems certain is that Montero will remain a starter, whether he is in Detroit or in Triple-A Toledo. He was making his sixth appearance for the Tigers this spring. In his previous outing, he was sharp, throwing four scoreless innings against Pittsburgh on March 14.
And no decisions have been made yet.
"We still have a lot of conversations to have and figure out where we're at," Hinch said. "The first three, obviously, we've talked about being anchored and then we'll sort out the rest. We still have time.
"And obviously we feel like we have a lot of options, so it's a good problem to have when you feel like you have multiple guys who belong here and who have had good camps in one way or another."
On Friday, though, Montero was not particularly sharp early, throwing just 46 of his 72 pitches for strikes. He gave up four hits, recorded four strikeouts and had one walk.
"His feel for pitching is trending in the right direction, and that comes with a little bit of comfort, a little bit of work and a clear head when you pitch," Hinch said.
Lefty reliever Tyler Holton also gave up some loud contact when Wells hit a three-run homer.
But right-hander Will Vest impressed, throwing a hitless inning with a strikeout.
Say hey, Wenceel
In the third inning, Wenceel Pérez made a fantastic Willie Mays impersonation, catching a long flyball over his shoulder while running toward the center-field wall — ending up on the warning track — to rob Wells of extra bases.
"I'm glad he got tested," Hinch said. "It wasn't easy to see with the with the sun setting and he stayed with it. He had a couple really good reads, and his first read, is his best read, which we try to try to convince him of that. And it was good to see him complete the plays."
At a time when Parker Meadows, the Tigers expected center fielder, is out with an injury, Pérez making that kind of play should offer some comfort to Tigers fans that he can handle center while Meadows is out.
At the plate
Hinch says he doesn't worry about stats in the spring — he concentrates more on hard-hit balls. So, on an evening when the Tigers didn't have much offense when the starters were in the game, it was important to note some loud contact from Pérez (105.2 mph), Javier Báez (108.3 mph exit velocity), Riley Greene (105.5 mph) and Dillon Dingler (104.1 mph).
The stomach bug strikes again
A stomach bug has crept through the Tigers clubhouse.
It took down Maeda for several days, but he seems to have recovered.
But on Friday, the bug brought down Justyn-Henry Malloy, who was expected to start in right field and bat leadoff against the Yankees. Malloy was replaced in the lineup by Jahmai Jones.
That switch felt significant, considering Malloy and Jones are in a battle for one of the bench spots on the roster, along with Ryan Kreidler and Spencer Torkelson. A single game won't change the decision, but every chance is important.
Jones went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and has a .205 average.
Three stars
1. Pérez. 2. Montero. 3. Vest.
Next up: Braves
Saturday (1:05 p.m., no TV) vs. Atlanta in Lakeland.
MORE FROM JEFF SEIDEL: Colt Keith back at second base? Only because A.J. Hinch is total mad scientist for Tigers
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers blanked by New York Yankees, 4-0, in spring training
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