CLEVELAND — Tigers’ manager AJ Hinch was talking about rookie Riley Greene before the game. He was asked what Greene might’ve learned from striking out four times against Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie Thursday night.
“I think he learned that McKenzie’s got a nasty breaking ball,” Hinch said. “It’s pretty simple. That dude was nasty.”
Hinch, as he’s said, isn’t going to ride the emotional rapids with Greene, who like all rookies will endure his share of hardships and successes as he cuts his teeth against big league pitching.
"One thing I appreciate about Riley Greene,” Hinch said, “the day after the four-punchout performance he was just the same as he was the day after he hit the walk-off homer. That’s not easy to do at that age, at this level with so many expectations on him. It’s a tribute to his character.”
What he did Friday in the Tigers’ otherwise dispiriting 6-5 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field was a tribute to his talent.
When Greene came to bat in the first inning, he’d struck out in his six previous at-bats and hadn’t put a ball in play since his first-inning single in Kansas City on Wednesday.
He came in attack mode.
He swung at the first pitch of the game, a fastball from right-hander Zach Plesac. The ball left his bat with an exit velocity of 104 mph. Unfortunately for him, he hit it to the deepest part of Progressive Field and it was caught.
Next at-bat, with two outs in the third inning with the Tigers trailing 3-0, he again swung at a first-pitch fastball and scalded it. The ball left his bat at 107 mph and flew on a line over the right-center-field wall — Greene’s second homer of the season.
His third at-bat highlighted a four-run fourth inning and sent Plesac to an early shower. A double by Harold Castro and a single by Willi Castro had tied the game at 3. Greene came up with the bases loaded and two outs.
Greene missed badly on a 1-0 change-up, so badly that Plesac decided to throw another one. Greene was all over it, lining a two-run double into the right-field corner, giving the Tigers a 5-3 lead.
It was a strange inning for Cleveland. It started with a rare error by third baseman and All-Star Jose Ramirez. After the Castros’ RBI hits, Plesac induced a comebacker from Jonathan Schoop that looked like it would be an inning-ending double-play.
Plesac wheeled and threw to second but shortstop Amed Rosario was several feet behind the bag. All runners safe.
Plesac struck out Tucker Barnhart for the second out but Greene made sure the Tigers cashed in on the Guardians’ gifts.
Cleveland scored four runs in five innings against Tigers' starter Drew Hutchison, three in the first.
The Tigers kept that skinny 5-4 lead until the bottom of the seventh. Reliever Michael Fulmer walked the No. 9 hitter Myles Straw after getting ahead of him 0-2. Bad start.
Steven Kwan followed with a double, hitting a high chopper over the head of first baseman Harold Castro. Fulmer struck out Rosario and then, per Hinch's instructions, walked Ramirez intentionally.
Josh Naylor tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left and then Andres Gimenez dunked an RBI bloop single into shallow left to put the Guardians ahead.
The Tigers, who have lost seven of their last eight games and fall to 17 games under .500 (37-54), got two hits after the fourth inning.
