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Four Detroit Tigers pitchers combine for one-hitter in 1-0 win over Baltimore Orioles
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- Four Detroit Tigers pitchers combine for one-hitter in 1-0 win over Baltimore Orioles
The Detroit Tigers nearly threw a combined no-hitter amid the pressure of a postseason push.
Four pitchers — Beau Brieske , Brant Hurter , Brenan Hanifee and Tyler Holton — allowed just one hit in Friday's 1-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park, in front of 25,253 fans. The quartet faced 29 batters across nine innings, two more than the minimum.
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"That was incredible," manager A.J. Hinch said. "That was a lot of fun."
"It was just one of those perfect nights," Hurter said.
The no-hitter was broken up by Gunnar Henderson with two outs in the ninth inning. He ripped a triple off Holton's first-pitch sweeper down the first-base line and into the right-field corner. Five pitches later, Holton ended the game with a swinging strikeout.
Brant Hurter of the Detroit Tigers pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during the second inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.
Brieske, a right-hander, faced four batters as an opener, Hurter, a left-hander, faced 18 batters as a bulk reliever, Hanifee, a righty, faced three batters as a traditional reliever and Holton, a lefty, faced four batters as a traditional reliever.
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Catcher Dillon Dingler worked behind the plate for all 29 batters in his 21st game of his MLB career.
"He's very talented because he prepares," Hinch said of Dingler, a 2020 second-round draft pick. "He's aware of strengths and weaknesses. He's confident in his game-calling. I think it's very underrated, understated how both Hanifee and Hurter, as an example, have the same amount of trust and respect for Dingler that (Tarik) Skubal has for (Jake) Rogers. That connection matters."
The Tigers (76-72) — in the hunt for the third and final spot in the American League wild-card race — had a perfect game intact until Hurter walked Adley Rutschman on eight pitches to open the eighth inning. After that, Hanifee took over and retired the next three batters to keep the no-hitter intact and preserve the one-run lead.
Hanifee struck out Colton Cowser swinging — winning a nine-pitch battle with a 96.9 mph fastball — to complete the eighth.
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"It's Cowser, left-hander," Hanifee said. "I was going to get beat with my best stuff, so I tried to challenge him as much as I could. He fouled off a bunch of good pitches, and then I was finally able to get one in where I wanted to. Got the swing-and-miss and got pretty fired up."
In the ninth inning, Holton matched up with Emmanuel Rivera , pinch-hitter Coby Mayo and Henderson. Rivera flew out to right field on a fourth-pitch cutter, and Mayo struck out looking on a ninth-pitch cutter. After that, Henderson hit the triple to break up the no-hitter and put the go-ahead run at third base.
But Holton struck out Anthony Santander , who has 41 home runs, to end the game.
Tyler Holton of the Detroit Tigers reacts after striking out Anthony Santander of the Baltimore Orioles to end the game at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.
Santander chased an up-and-away fastball.
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"After the letdown of the hit, it's like, oh, by the way, we still have a one-run game," Hinch said. "It was really important for him to reset and get back. That was just an incredible game and a huge win. Fun group of guys in there."
Hurter, a 26-year-old in his eighth MLB appearance, took down 5⅔ innings of the combined one-hitter, sandwiched between the first 1⅓ innings from Brieske and the final two innings from Hanifee and Holton. He registered eight strikeouts — four swinging, four looking — while throwing 53 of 71 pitches for strikes.
Hurter, who had a 5.80 ERA in Triple-A Toledo, delivered first-pitch strikes to 17 of 18 batters, including first-pitch strikes to each of his first 14 batters.
He dominated the Orioles with his sinker and sweeper.
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"It seemed like they weren't seeing the sinker well, which got me some chases with the slider," Hurter said. "I think they just weren't comfortable in the box."
Hurter owns a 2.56 ERA in 38⅔ innings in his MLB career.
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Kerry Carpenter 's big swing
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Kerry Carpenter jumped a first-pitch curveball from right-hander Zach Eflin with one out. He hit the breaking ball for a solo home run to right-center field, hammering it 414 feet with a 109.6 mph exit velocity.
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"Our pitchers are incredible," Carpenter said.
The homer from Carpenter, his 15th in 75 games, was all the Tigers needed to beat the Orioles.
Eflin allowed one run on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts across 6⅔ innings, throwing 100 pitches. Rutschman, the Orioles' catcher, threw out Riley Greene and Wenceel Pérez trying to steal second base in the fourth and seventh innings, respectively.
In the eighth inning, Matt Vierling struck out looking against right-handed reliever Matt Bowman , stranding two runners in scoring position. The Tigers finished 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers throw combined one-hitter in 1-0 win over Orioles
