Blaine Hardy was supposed to be a short-term starter while injured Tigers pitchers recovered.
A string of solid outings by the veteran left-hander
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Nicholas Castellanos homered and Hardy pitched one-run ball into the sixth, leading the Tigers over the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Sunday for their fifth straight win.
Hardy (3-1) allowed one run on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He has given up two runs or less in six of his seven starts – the first starts of his five-year career.
Manager Ron Gardenhire said he’s considering a six-man rotation when Francisco Liriano returns from the disabled list – a week after dismissing that as an option.
”We got some guys in there who might need extra days that could probably use it,” Gardenhire said. ”We started thinking we could probably do this with some of these guys, give them a breather going into All-Star break.”
Hardy said he won’t be sweating out a decision.
”I’ve really gone start to start from the get-go,” he said. ”Even if they tell me I’m in the rotation for the rest of the year, I’m probably going to do the same thing. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Jose Iglesias added an RBI single as Detroit improved to 8-1 against the White Sox this season, including 6-0 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Castellanos homered twice on Saturday and connected again in his first at-bat Sunday. Before Saturday, he was mired in a 1-for-21 slump over the previous five games.
Matt Davidson hit his 12th homer and Kevan Smith had two hits for Chicago, which has dropped four straight.
James Shields (2-8) allowed three runs on six hits in six-plus innings. Shields walked Jeimer Candelario with one out in the first and Castellanos followed with a homer.
”I got behind in the count to Castellanos,” Shields said. ”I thought he just popped it up, but it ended up going over the fence. They’re hot right now.”
After Davidson’s solo homer in the second – his first since May 13 – Iglesias drove in Niko Goodrum in the fourth to make it 3-1.
THE HEAT IS ON
The temperature at the start was 92 degrees and it rose a couple of degrees from there.
”The only place I’ve probably seen hotter weather is Texas
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CLOSING TIME
With closer Shane Greene unavailable after pitching four straight days, Joe Jimenez struck out the side in the ninth for his second save.
”He’s been throwing really well as a setup guy whenever we put him in,” Gardenhire said. ”You can see the velocity. He’s a power guy and he’s confident now. He’s gotten over that I-don’t-want-to-make-a-mistake thing and he just attacks.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: LHP Daniel Stumpf (ulnar nerve irritation) is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday.
White Sox: RHP Miguel Gonzalez (rotator cuff inflammation) reported no problems following a 25-pitch session on Saturday. The plan is for him to throw another session – 25 pitches or more – during the three-game series at Cleveland.
UP NEXT
Tigers: LHP Matthew Boyd (4-4, 3.23 ERA) starts the opener of a two-game series at Cincinnati on Tuesday night. RHP Sal Romano (3-7, 5.67) pitches for the Reds.
White Sox: RHP Dylan Covey (3-1, 2.29 ERA) takes the mound in the opener of a three-game series at Cleveland on Monday night. Covey is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his last three starts. RHP Trevor Bauer (5-5, 2.69) goes for the Indians.
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Note to opposing pitchers: Fear the beard.
The Colorado Rockies‘ Charlie Blackmon is starting to return to the form that saw him lead the National League with a .331 batting average last season, when he also had career highs with 37 home runs and 104 RBIs.
The bearded Blackmon homered in the first inning for the second time in the past three games Friday and added two other hits, sparking the Rockies to a 7-1 victory at Seattle. It was Colorado’s fourth straight win and seventh in the past eight games.
“It’s really good to continue to try and win games, play team baseball, even if you’re not feeling real awesome at the plate,” Blackmon told MLB.com earlier this week.
Blackmon hit a first-inning homer Tuesday in an 8-1 victory against San Francisco
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During the Rockies’ four-game win streak, Blackmon is batting .471 (8-for-17) with two homers, four RBIs and has six runs scored. By contrast, from June 6 to Monday’s 5-2 victory over the Giants, Blackmon hit .216 (22-for-102) with two homers.
“This guy is the National League batting champion,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He’s an All-Star, started the All-Star Game, hit 37 home runs, knocked in 100 runs from the leadoff position. He’s going to be pitched tough the next year, for sure.
“And Charlie, at times, has come out of his game a little bit. Our conversation with Charlie has been
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And that’s when opponents fear the beard.
“I’ve felt pretty good the past couple of days,” Blackmon admitted.
Blackmon will face a tough task Saturday afternoon in Seattle against Mariners left-hander James Paxton (8-2, 3.39 ERA). Paxton is 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA in two career starts against the Rockies.
In his most recent start, Paxton pitched eight shutout innings, giving up just two hits while striking out 11, in a 1-0 victory over the Royals on Sunday.
Blackmon has a .305 career average against lefties. Of the left-handed batters with a minimum of 750 plate appearances, the only ones in baseball history with a better average against southpaws are Ichiro Suzuki, Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew and Larry Walker.
Colorado will send left-hander Kyle Freeland (8-6, 3.25) to the mound. Freeland has made one career start against the Mariners, a 6-3 win at Safeco Field last season. He pitched six innings in that game and allowed two runs on six hits. In five career interleague starts
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The Mariners hope to have outfielder Mitch Haniger back Saturday.
Haniger, who is second in the American League with 62 RBIs, has missed the past two games with a bruised right knee.
“(Thursday) it was really sore, but it’s calmed down quite a bit,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said before Friday’s game. “He had it looked at by the doctor and it’s day-to-day. Hopefully he goes along good today and he possibly could get back in there (Saturday). He was definitely moving and feeling better.”
Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon left Friday’s game in the sixth inning after trying to score from third base on a ball that was in the dirt and got away from Colorado catcher Tony Wolters. But Wolters quickly recovered and flipped to pitcher German Marquez, who tagged out Gordon, who tried to score standing up. Gordon landed awkwardly after crossing the plate and Servais said Gordon “tweaked his hip.”
“I think he’ll be OK,” Servais said. “We’ll know more (Saturday) morning.”
