ARLINGTON, Texas — This wasn’t one of those planned bullpen days for Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, but quickly became one after two more of their pitchers got hurt.
Tigers starting pitcher Matthew Boyd departed with left elbow discomfort after throwing only 15 pitches against the Texas Rangers on Monday night, and reliever Will Vest exited with right knee discomfort an inning later.
Still, the Tigers went on to beat the AL West-leading Rangers 7-2.
“Tough night to navigate with all the pitching,” Hinch said. “We did a great job, but losing two guys that early was painful.”
The Tigers already have nine pitchers on the injured list, though right-hander Matt Manning (right foot fracture) is expected to be activated to start Tuesday night. Plus, they had used seven pitchers in a 10-inning loss Sunday.
After Boyd and Vest combined to strike out five of the seven batters they faced, the four relievers that followed struck out 11 more with three walks over 7⅓ innings in which they allowed only one run. The 16 strikeouts were the most against the Rangers this season.
Boyd and Vest were already done before former Rangers utility player Andy Ibañez hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the third inning for a 4-1 lead. Jake Rogers added a two-run shot with two outs in the sixth to chase Texas starter Andrew Heaney.
“We punched back pretty early,” said Rogers, the Tigers’ catcher. “Getting up three that quick is awesome, especially with the capability of the bullpen after that. It gives them a sigh of relief. … When you attack hitters and have confidence, you get outs.”
Rookie Mason Englert, the third Detroit pitcher, allowed one run over 2⅓ innings. The right-hander from Forney, Texas, about 40 miles from Globe Life Field, was a fourth-round draft pick by the Rangers in 2018, and acquired by the Tigers in the Rule 5 draft last offseason.
After giving up a leadoff homer to Marcus Semien, left-hander Boyd struck out the next two batters before a 2-0 pitch to Adolis García that went well over the head of catcher Rogers.
Vest struck out Garcia on three pitches to finish the first. The right-hander allowed a leadoff double to start the second before two strikeouts, then landed awkwardly after his follow-through on a 1-1 pitch to Ezequiel Duran.
“It’s natural to kind of be frustrated,” Hinch said. “For me in game, I will go right to like who’s up next and what we need to do to get out of this situation that we’re in.”
Then came that “not again” thought once he got back to the dugout.
“It’s disappointing for those guys that had to come out of the game,” he said. “But the game goes on.”
Both aching pitchers will be re-evaluated Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Detroit Tigers’ Matthew Boyd, Will Vest exit with injuries
