DETROIT — Kevin Gausman didn’t appear to be tipping his pitches, but unfortunately for the Blue Jays, neither was Beau Brieske.
A strong start from Gausman went to waste and Gabriel Moreno’s big-league debut will go down as a loss as the Blue Jays fell 3-1 to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Saturday. Moreno singled with two out in the ninth and later scored on a George Springer single, but Gregory Soto eventually induced a fly-out off Bo Bichette’s bat to close out the Tigers’ win.
Whether Gausman was tipping against the Minnesota Twins last weekend is hard to say with full confidence. If he was tipping, the Twins would keep that information to themselves. And if he wasn’t, why would they go out of their way to dispel the idea?
“I’d never know,” manager Charlie Montoyo said before Saturday’s game. “No one would ever tell you if he was.”
“We’re not sure because there are so many things it could be,” Montoyo continued. “There are so many cameras and people are watching … It’s everything. I’m telling you — everything. Like, smiling when you throw a change-up. All kinds of stuff.”
Ultimately, it’s on the Blue Jays to ensure Gausman’s as consistent as possible and there were efforts made on that front over the last week. But in the end, there’s going to be a degree of predictability in the way that he pitches since his splitters are generally down and his fastballs are generally up. Predictable or not, it’s a formula that’s worked for a few years now.
On Saturday, the Tigers had few answers for the combination as Gausman pitched six innings while allowing just two runs, one of which was unearned. He struck out four while generating 15 total swinging strikes, including 11 on his splitter. All told, it was an encouraging bounce-back outing in which the Tigers looked far less comfortable than the Twins did a week ago.
Behind the plate was Moreno, who held his own defensively from the very beginning. The Tigers challenged the 22-year-old in the bottom of the first inning, sending Victor Reyes to second base on a steal attempt with one out. Moreno’s throw was strong and perfectly placed, but contact with Reyes jostled the ball out of Bichette’s glove and the Tigers’ centre fielder was ruled safe.
It took all of 1.83 seconds for Moreno to catch the ball and get it to second base — an elite pop-time made possible with an 81.3 m.p.h. throw. Technically speaking, it was his first caught stealing as a major-leaguer as the official scorer ruled that Reyes reached on a Bichette error.
At the plate, Moreno went 1-for-4 with a single while wearing No. 55 in a nod to Russell Martin. He grounded out to the pitcher on the first pitch he saw in the second inning and was called out on strikes in the fourth. In the seventh, he made a routine grounder to short into a close play by sprinting down the line and flashing some impressive speed. Finally, with two out in the ninth, he singled to centre field for his first big-league hit.
Regardless of Saturday’s results, Moreno’s here to play. By optioning Zack Collins to triple-A Buffalo before the game, the Blue Jays returned to a two-catcher configuration, a reflection of their confidence in Moreno’s defensive ability. Expect the rookie to catch roughly half of the team’s games while Alejandro Kirk handles the other half while also getting regular starts at DH to keep his bat in the lineup.
On Sunday, the series wraps up with Ross Stripling taking the ball against Tarik Skubal.
