Tigers’ Norris becomes 19th pitcher to homer in 1st at-bat

There was also the 94-mph fastball in the second inning that Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris blasted out to center field for a two-run homer in his first big-league at-bat.

“The Tigers can hit”. Here’s hoping we see the bad Sanchez tonight. But they lost their second straight following a nine-game winning streak. Now the odds for the game have the Cubs favored to pick up the win in this one.

Tommy Milone was the last pitcher to manage the same feat when he hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat for the Washington Nationals in 2011.

“He was not on top of his game”, Maddon said, “but he’s fine”.

While a reunion with David Price seems quite unlikely at the moment, the Tigers may be wise to consider making a run at Jordan Zimmermann, Johnny Cueto or Scott Kazmir this offseason. He was batting. 250 in 21 games with three home runs and seven RBIs.

Simon (11-7) walked two and struck out five.

The Rangers’ only hit came with two outs in the fifth, moments after first baseman Victor Martinez had made a diving stop to rob Mitch Moreland of a base hit. While Detroit is still technically in the race, it may soon be time to officially begin looking ahead to next season. His WHIP is extremely good at 1.18 and he’s allowed only 136 hits in 145 innings pitched. Norris has made five starts on the road this season and has a 2-0 record there, his ERA of 2.45 and allowing opponents to hit just.

Al Alburquerque (3-0), the fourth of six Detroit relievers, got one out and the win. The hit, originally called a homer, was changed to a double after a video review.

“When our talent comes together, it’s pretty obvious we have a pretty unsafe squad”, Castellanos said. Lester looked more like a high-A pitcher Wednesday than signed a $155-million type.

Hammel admitted that he struggled with command. But with that being said, I still got to figure out a way to get deeper in that game. Valdez has one career big-league appearance, July 31 against the Orioles, in which he faced four batters and didn’t retire one of them. It was Martinez’s 31st home run of the season. Mud Hens manager Larry Parrish told the Detroit News Holaday either “dislocated or fractured” the thumb in a collision at home plate.

Norris’ teammates also had a big offensive night in a 15-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs that allowed the Tigers to complete a two-game series sweep.