For perhaps the first time in summer camp, it felt like an actual baseball game.
The reason was likely the start time: For the first time in intrasquad play, the Detroit Tigers played at night, on Wednesday afternoon at Comerica Park.
The team wanted to get acclimated to the stadium lights for a few games before their regular season opener on July 24 against the Cincinnati Reds.
Also, the Tigers piped in artificial crowd noise which gave it more of an atmosphere with fans in the stands.
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There were also Opening Day implications in this intrasquad game: Lefty Matthew Boyd started and pitched four innings, allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts.
Though Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire has yet to say Boyd is his Opening Day starter, he is the expected choice as the team ace. Boyd likely will make his last outing of summer camp Monday before the opener against the Reds.
Boyd’s first inning was rocky, allowing a solo home run to Grayson Greiner. He balked and allowed another hit but mitigated the damage from there.
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Opposing Boyd was righty Ivan Nova. Nova was tagged for three runs on six hits in four innings. Nova didn’t look as good as he did in his last outing, but he is also a veteran just trying to get his pitch count up.
The Tigers’ young outfielders once again starred, beginning with who else but Riley Greene. Just two days after making an outstanding, over-the-fence catch in left field, he made a diving catch in front of the right field line.
Later in the game, Greene made another big play, hitting an opposite-field home run off Matt Manning into the Tigers’ bullpen in left field.
An inning after Greene’s catch, center fielder Derek Hill made a diving catch, snagging a low liner before it hit the turf.
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Manning received some action in relief, pitching two innings. His fastball looked to have life and hit 95 mph, according to the stadium scoreboard.
On Offense, Jeimer Candelario continues to look like he did when he began as a full-time player with the Tigers in 2018. He hit an opposite-field double off the left-center field wall – many of his hits this summer camp have gone to the opposite field.
Christin Stewart also hit a double down the right field line: Stewart has been one of the standout Tigers in camp thus far.
The Tigers will play at night again on Thursday night. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit.
