DUNEDIN, Fla. — Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize pitched masterfully Thursday night.
And with a chip on his shoulder.
"I wanted to make a good impression," Mize said Thursday. "Because, you know, I needed to. This spring hasn't been as good as I would have liked for it to be, so I knew I needed to have a pretty good night. There was a little bit of that."
With a spot in the 2021 Opening Day starting rotation up for grabs, Mize was determined to make the team. He didn't want to leave manager AJ Hinch and general manager Al Avila with concerns toward the end of spring training.