The Guardians came to play against the Tigers tonight, winning the series-opener by a score of 4-0. Plenty of performances are worthy of discussion, but make no mistake — Triston McKenzie owned the night as much as he owned the Tigers.
McKenzie needed only his four-seamer, slider, and curveball to dominate Detroit with a career-high 12 strikeouts tonight; his crowning performance as he heads into the All-Star break. With tonight’s eight-inning game in the books, he has allowed no earned runs and recorded 23 strikeouts over his last three starts. He also apparently earned the trust of his manager, as he was left in for the eighth inning despite approaching 100 pitches after the seventh.