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Javier Báez blasts 440-foot homer in Detroit Tigers' 5-3 win vs Pirates in spring training
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- Javier Báez blasts 440-foot homer in Detroit Tigers' 5-3 win vs Pirates in spring training
LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers won, 5-3, against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
Detroit is 7-7 in Grapefruit League play.
What happened
In his sixth game, Javier Báez crushed his first home run in spring training. It was his first homer since undergoing right hip surgery, which required six months of rehabilitation.
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"He's putting in a lot of work to try to get better pitches to hit," manager A.J. Hinch said, "and his timing is getting a little bit better. He's been getting beat with the higher leg kick and being late. Today, he was more on time. We saw some good results."
Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Báez leaves practice field after workout during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.
Right-handed reliever Jared Bayless left a sinker up-and-in, allowing Báez to turn on the 89.9 mph pitch and drive the ball onto the berm beyond the wall in left-center field. He hit the ball 440 feet with a 106.6 mph exit velocity for a three-run home run.
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Báez, who started at designated hitter, finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. He also recorded a single off left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson 's 93 mph sinker in the fifth inning.
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This spring, Báez is hitting .286 (4-for-14) with two walks and three strikeouts in 16 plate appearances. He projects to be the Tigers ' starting shortstop, despite being one of MLB's worst hitters in the past two seasons.
"We need him to get good pitches to hit," Hinch said.
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Starting off
Left-hander Tarik Skubal wasn't at his best.
The 28-year-old still had a productive day from a workload standpoint, pitching into the fourth inning and building up his pitch count to 63. He allowed two runs on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts across 3⅓ innings.
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"The workload needs to increase," Skubal said. "I don't know how many pitches I threw. I need to get that to 90-ish, or whatever the plan is. I feel good. I'm tired now, which is a good sign because I had a good work."
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In the third inning, Tommy Pham hit a solo home run to right field off Skubal's fastball; the blast would've been a homer in 26 of 30 MLB ballparks, including Comerica Park.
It was the first run allowed by Skubal in spring training.
"Did you see it?" Skubal said. "It was going foul, and then I could see the seams, and it started to cut. I thought it was foul, and it was going foul, and then it started to cut back fair."
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For his 63 pitches, Skubal threw 19 four-seam fastballs, 15 sinkers, 14 sliders, 13 changeups and two curveballs. He generated 11 whiffs on 37 swings (29.7% whiff rate) with three fastballs, two sinkers, four sliders and two changeups.
His fastball averaged 96.2 mph.
"I just think there was too many big misses," Skubal said. "Changeup wasn't in the zone enough. Too many big misses with four-seamers. Sinker wasn't to my glove side enough."
At the plate
Aside from Báez's pop, the Tigers scored two runs, including one in the first inning. Left-hander Andrew Heaney started for the Pirates, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks with zero strikeouts in 2⅓ innings.
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The Tigers took a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly from Gleyber Torres , following singles from Jahmai Jones and Andy Ibáñez to put runners on the corners.
In the third inning, Jones delivered a leadoff triple off Heaney and scored on Ibáñez's sacrifice fly. After a pitching change, Báez cranked his three-run home run against Bayless' sinker to complete a four-run inning.
On the mound
Left-handed reliever Tyler Holton replaced Skubal and completed the fourth inning, but he gave up one run on one hit and two walks without a strikeout, facing five batters.
Four right-handed relievers on the 40-man roster — Will Vest , John Brebbia , Chase Lee and Tyler Owens — turned in scoreless performances, with Vest locking up the fifth inning.
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Brebbia recorded five outs against eight batters.
Three stars
1. Báez; 2. Brebbia; 3. Skubal.
Next up
Monday (1:05 p.m.; FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) vs. New York Yankees in Tampa.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers' Javier Báez blasts 440-foot homer in 5-3 spring training win
