DENVER — There was a telling moment in the seventh inning of the Detroit Tigers' 8-5 victory over the Texas Rangers.
The bases were loaded when the Rangers replaced a right-handed reliever with left-handed reliever John King.
The Tigers allowed left-handed hitter Kerry Carpenter to bat, rather than bringing in right-handed hitter Eric Haase. The result, a swinging strikeout, didn't matter as much as the thought process behind the decision.
"Right now, our guys aren't really swinging the bat great," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said afterward. "We wanted to get the ball in the air.