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Detroit Tigers spoil Reese Olson’s outing in 2-1 loss to Atlanta Braves

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Detroit Tigers spoil Reese Olson’s outing in 2-1 loss to Atlanta Braves

ATLANTA — The Detroit Tigers have done a lot of things right.

Right-hander Reese Olson, who grew up 60 miles from Atlanta, pitched six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in a brilliant comeback performance; Riley Greene played a key role in scoring a run against left-hander Max Fried with an RBI single in the sixth inning. But these successes were not enough as the Tigers could not resist the Atlanta Braves in the late innings.

The Tigers lost to the Braves, 2-1, on Monday in the first game of a three-game series at Truist Park. The Braves scored a run in the seventh and eighth innings against two relievers.

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Despite an encouraging start, the Tigers (34-38) squandered their 1-0 advantage in the seventh inning after right-handed reliever Will Vest replaced Olson.

The Braves tied the game, 1-1, on Forrest Wall’s RBI single against Vest with two strikes and two outs in the seventh inning. The Braves then took a 2-1 lead on Ozzie Albies’ solo homer off right-handed reliever Shelby Miller with two outs in the eighth inning.

As of Monday, the Tigers’ bullpen ranked 26th in MLB with a 4.72 ERA since April 15.

For the Braves, right-handed reliever Joe Jiménez – whom the Tigers traded for Justyn-Henry Malloy in December 2022 – struck out all three batters against his former team in the top of the ninth inning, effectively ending the game.

Riley Greene breaks the ice

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning.

Three batters reached safely in a row against Fried: Andy Ibáñez (single), Mark Canha (walk) and Greene (single). Greene, a left-handed hitter who typically struggles against left-handed pitchers, drilled a two-strike slider up and down into right field, scoring Ibáñez from second base.

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Fried, one of the best lefties in the National League, allowed one run on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 5⅓ innings, throwing 103 pitches.

The Tigers missed a fourth-inning scoring opportunity when three batters reached safely with two outs in the fourth inning: Greene (walk), Gio Urshela (single) and Malloy (walk). In this situation, Colt Keith grounded out on a first-pitch sinker to strand the bases loaded.

A bad call

After Greene’s RBI single, Fried struck out Urshela for the first out of the sixth inning before exiting, replaced by right-handed reliever Jesse Chavez, who struck out Malloy for the second out.

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The runners – Canha and Greene – advanced to third and second base, respectively, due to hesitation with Keith at the plate.

Keith fought for eight pitches, but struck out on a third strike outside the strike zone. It was a bad call by home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi.

Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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