Casey Mize Belongs on a Big League Mound
Casey Mize’s auspicious MLB debut ended after an impressive 4.1 innings of work on Wednesday night in Chicago. There’s no doubt that the competitor in Mize wanted to go through the sixth-inning. Nonetheless, his debut proved that he belongs on a big-league mound.
A 14-pitch first inning was just what the doctor ordered for Mize, who struck out two of the first three batters that he faced at Guaranteed Rate Field. The seven strikeouts that Mize ended the night with were paired with zero walks, making him the first pitcher in Tigers history to have at least seven strikeouts and no walks in an MLB debut.
“It’s nice to see him up here in the big leagues with us.’’ Said manager Ron Gardenhire. “Now we’ve got to get him into a routine. We all know the kid is special. He’s going to take a few bumps here and there. Pretty much every pitcher I’ve been around has taken bumps in the big leagues.’’
The dazzling depth of his split-finger fastball was as advertised, along with his ability to command the baseball on both sides of the plate. Three of his first four strikeout victims, including the ever-pesky Tim Anderson, went down via Mize’s splitter.
The lone misstep in the early stages of the ballgame came against one of baseball’s best power-hitters, Edwin Encarnacion, who delivered a hanging curveball 414 feet into the left-field seats to make it 1-0 Chicago in the second inning.
Mize appeared to promptly put the mistake behind him, working ahead in the count for the vast majority of a brief 11-pitch third inning.
“There wasn’t really a moment where I felt like, ‘oh, I’m over-matched or I’m in the wrong place,’’ Mize said. “I did feel comfortable, and I do feel like I belong.’’
The moment that the former No.1 overall pick will likely harken back on is the bottom of the fifth inning. A chance for a shutdown-inning after Tigers infielder Jeimer Candelario’s three-run home run in the top of the fifth put Detroit ahead 3-1.
Three of the seven hits off Mize came in the fifth, two of them were RBI singles from Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada to tie the game at 3-3.
“It was just so much fun’’, Mize said. It was everything I dreamed of, but I feel like I should’ve done more for my team. After Candy (Jeimer Candelario) hit that big home run, as a starting pitcher, I have to get a shut down inning and I didn’t do that.''
The high standard that Mize holds for himself is something that, coupled with his undeniable talent could take him a long way.
Detroit's losing streak is now eight in a row after Wednesday night’s 5-3 final score that favored Chicago, but the game itself was perhaps a glimpse into a brighter future in the Motor City.
