DETROIT — Rookie Keider Montero pitched Detroit’s first particular person shutout in three seasons and the Tigers beat the Colorado Rockies 11-0 Tuesday night time.
Montero (5-6) was making his 14th main league begin and have become the primary Tigers pitcher with 9 shutout innings since Spencer Turnbull’s no-hitter in Seattle on Might 18, 2021. At 24 12 months and 66 days, Montero is the third-youngest Tigers pitcher with a shutout within the final 20 seasons, behind solely Justin Verlander (23 years, 91 days) and Michael Fulmer (23 years and 152 days).
“I used to be simply making an attempt to place each pitch within the strike zone and [catcher Jake Rogers] referred to as an amazing recreation,” Montero mentioned by an interpreter. “Whatever the rating, I used to be attacking hitters. I knew I had the blokes behind me who would make the performs.”
The best-hander, who recorded the sixteenth complete-game shutout of the season, wanted 96 pitchers whereas going through the minimal 27 batters. He allowed three singles and struck out 5 with out strolling a batter.
“Clearly, this can be a big night time for Keider and an enormous night time for us,” Tigers supervisor A.J. Hinch mentioned.
Montero anticipated to pitch to Dillon Dingler, who has caught him frequently in Triple-A Toledo and Detroit, however a late lineup change meant he was working with Rogers for under the second time this season.
“We ambushed him with a brand new catcher about 90 minutes earlier than the sport, which is not the plan, however he and Jake did an amazing job,” Hinch mentioned.
All of Colorado’s singles — Ryan McMahon within the second, Ezequiel Tovar within the seventh and Aaron Schunk within the eighth — have been adopted by double performs by the Tigers’ infield.
Editor’s Picks
2 Associated
“He is simply obtained a very stable four-pitch combine — a full of life fastball, two completely different breaking balls and changeup — and he throws a ton of strikes,” Rockies supervisor Bud Black mentioned. “A recreation like that’s uncommon on this period — a whole recreation with a low pitch depend.
“But it surely exhibits what you are able to do for those who change speeds, transfer the ball on each side of the plate and maintain it down.”
Parker Meadows hit a solo homer within the first inning, his seventh, and drove in three runs.
Rockies starter Bradley Blalock (1-3) gave up 5 runs and 5 hits with 5 walks in 4 innings.
“Bradley was the alternative of Montero,” Black mentioned. “He did not stroll a batter in 9 innings and Bradley had 5 walks and 80-plus pitches in 4 innings. You have to get the ball within the strike zone.”
Colorado pitchers retired the ultimate 23 batters in Sunday’s 4-1 win in Milwaukee, however that streak ended when Meadows hit Blalock’s second pitch into the right-field stands. It was the primary time Meadows and Blalock — highschool teammates at Grayson Excessive College in Georgia — had confronted one another within the majors.
The Tigers loaded the bases within the second on two walks and an error, and Riley Greene tripled into the right-field nook to make it 4-0. Matt Vierling adopted with an RBI single to place Detroit up by 5.
Meadows had a two-run single off Anthony Molina within the sixth, making it 7-0, and he scored the eighth run on Vierling’s sacrifice fly. Andy Ibanez had a two-run single later in what turned a six-run inning for the Tigers.
The final Tigers pitcher to realize a “Maddux” — a shutout in fewer than 100 pitches named after Corridor of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux — was David Worth in opposition to Cleveland on June 12, 2015.
In line with STATS, Montero is the primary MLB rookie to have a 27-batter “Maddux” because it started monitoring pitch counts in 1988.
The Related Press contributed to this story.