It wasn’t a start, but it was an MLB debut to remember for Detroit Tigers left-hander Brant Hurter.
The 25-year-old, a starter who had a 5.80 ERA across 71⅓ innings in Triple-A Toledo, joined the Tigers’ 11-man bullpen as a bulk reliever.
He appeared in his first game Sunday against the Kansas City Royals, completing three scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Hurter impressed, but a bad pitch from a different reliever resulted in the Tigers losing to the Royals, 3-2, in Sunday’s finale of four games to drop the series at Comerica Park.
“Tough loss because we were in position to win,” manager A.J. Hinch said, “and we had the avenues to get to the finish line. That’s a gut punch.”
Right-handed reliever Shelby Miller, a 12-year veteran, surrendered a three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning.
He hung a first-pitch splitter to pinch-hitter MJ Melendez, who drove the ball over the wall in right field.
“They’re going to unleash all those lefties at any point,” Hinch said. “Shelby has given up eight hits to lefties on the year coming into that inning.
Two two-strike hits, and then a bad split to a hitter that can hit the ball out of the ballpark, and it changes the whole landscape of the game.”
