Casey Mize undergoing tests for groin issue

Montero showed what he was capable of in his return to the Tigers’ rotation by dicing up the Cubs here. Seiya Suzuki took him deep as the second batter of the game before Montero ripped off a stretch of retiring 14 of 15 hitters from the first through the fifth inning. He might’ve had a chance to get through the sixth too, but misplayed a dribbler from Pete Crow-Armstrong to start the frame and was taken out one batter later with just 81 pitches. Nevertheless, he forced 14 total swings-and-misses including multiple with four different pitches. He had plenty of answers against hitters from both sides of the plate, showcased great command, and looks like he will stick in the rotation moving forward with Jack Flaherty heading to the injured list and an expected sell-off in Detroit. For next week, he’s scheduled for two starts. First against the Orioles at home followed by a difficult matchup with the Athletics on the road.

Mize was experiencing groin tightness in his start on Sunday, but also took a comebacker off his wrist. The throwing session on Monday was to ensure that both injuries didn’t impact his throwing. According to reports, Mize felt fine and plans to continue with his normal pre-start routine before starting on Saturday against the Royals.

Mize took a 108.8 mph ground ball from Jo Adell and was unable to continue. The Tigers will assuredly have the right-hander undergo testing to determine the severity of the injury, and there should be an update either during the game or shortly after.

Montero came on to relieve Troy Melton with two outs in the sixth inning and the Tigers trailing 1-0. He didn’t allow a baserunner until the ninth, where he started the inning by hitting Jorge Soler before allowing a single to Jose Siri. He battled back though, getting Jo Adell on a pop out to second and Oswald Peraza on a ground out to third before retiring Denzer Guzman on a ground ball to shortstop to end it. Montero punched out five batters in the brilliant outing and didn’t walk a batter. He’s expected to rejoin the rotation next week against the Cubs in Chicago.

Mize gave up five hits, walked two and struck out five. He fell to 4-6 with the loss. The unearned run against Mize came in the third inning when Derek Hill reached on a throwing error and scored after two stolen bases and a sacrifice fly. The other three runs came in the fourth inning on a J.T. Realmuto two-run double and an RBI single by Hill. Mize’s ERA is up to 2.79 heading into the All-Star break.

Mize continues to pitch well, although his ERA did increase ever-so-slightly from 2.63 to 2.64 with this effort. He didn’t have the same swing-and-miss he did against the Yankees on Monday, but he limited the hard contact while allowing just five hits, striking out four and getting into the seventh inning. The former first-overall pick has looked the part thus far, and he’ll have a chance to keep it going against the Phillies on Saturday.

Osuna had started every game this week in left field, so he’ll get a breather for Sunday’s tilt against the Tigers. Josh Smith will start in his place and will bat seventh for the Rangers against right-hander Casey Mize.

It was still a 3-0 game entering the ninth, but A.J. Hinch trusted Montero over Kenley Jansen today, apparently. Montero didn’t give him any reason not to, retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced. He got zero strikeouts and not even a single missed swing, but none of the nine balls in play against him turned into hits. The one batter to reach against him did so by walking. Montero could be a candidate for more three-inning saves as a reliever, though it’s also quite possible he’ll return to the rotation at some point.

Mize allowed one hit, walked none and struck out 10. He improved to 3-5 with the win. Last week, Mize took the loss against the Yankees at home when he allowed a go-ahead home run to Jazz Chisholm in the sixth inning. On Monday, he was almost untouchable. A harmless Spencer Jones double was the only baserunner against Mize in seven innings of dominant work. He has a 2.63 ERA and 3.53 xFIP, both of which represent career-bests. Mize is lined up to face the Rangers on the road this weekend.

This was always the logical move with Jack Flaherty back in the mix. It’ll be Framber Valdez taking the ball on Thursday against the Rangers on regular rest. Montero probably deserves a spot in Detroit’s rotation based on his recent performance but it doesn’t sound like they have any plans to move to a six-man mix for now.