The Detroit Tigers played their series finale against the New York Yankees on Thursday.
The game has was a pitching duel between the two teams: Jordan Montgomery allowed a single run in six innings of work, and Michael Pineda was brilliant for the Tigers, too, even better than his colleague.
“A great first @tigers appearance for Michael Pineda. 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 K, 60 pitches 40 strikes,” Bally Sports Detroit tweeted on Thursday afternoon.
A great first @tigers appearance for Michael Pineda.
▪️ 5 IP
▪️ 3 H
▪️ 0 R
▪️ 2 K
▪️ 60 pitches
▪️ 40 strikes#DetroitRoots pic.twitter.com/Z8OYay6JOx— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) April 21, 2022
For five innings, the former Yankee kept New York off the scoreboard, allowing nothing more than three hits.
He also struck out two hitters.
Everybody was paying attention to what Miguel Cabrera did with the bat: he was one hit shy of 3,000 in his career.
However, Pineda’s pitching performance shouldn’t be overlooked.
The Tigers Are Expecting Big Things From Pineda
Pineda was making his season debut, after signing a one-year, $5.5 million contract in March.
He was behind his teammates in spring training, though, because his arrival to the United States was delayed by visa issues.
He got a couple of rehab starts recently to ramp up to a full workload.
The right-hander had been solid last year for the Minnesota Twins, pitching 21 starts and 109.1 innings with a 9-8 record, a 3.62 ERA, 88 punchouts, and a 1.23 WHIP.
The Tigers are sure hoping he can help stabilize what is looking like a very young rotation.
Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and Matt Manning are expected to pitch a lot, but Eduardo Rodriguez and Pineda, the newcomers, should contribute their pitching savvy and experience to an inexperienced staff.
Detroit is trying to accomplish big things in 2022, and Pineda is an extremely important piece of the puzzle, if he can stay healthy.
NEXT: Miguel Cabrera Stat Stands Out In A Young Tigers Lineup