Detroit Tigers, Game 27: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't

The News' Tony Paul gives his quick takes on the Tigers' 9-8 loss to the Reds on Friday: One thing I loved A lot of baseball purists hate it, batters swinging at a 3-0 pitch. I almost always love it. You're rarely going to get a better pitch to hit, and Javier Báez took advantage by sending a middle-middle, 91-mph fastball from Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott into the seats in right-center field to lead off the third inning.

It was the second homer on a 3-0 pitch of Báez's career, the other also being at Great American Ball Park, in 2020. Báez's second homer of the year, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead, was the Tigers' first hit on a 3-0 pitch in 2026. The first four players to put balls in play on a 3-0 count made an out, including rookie Kevin McGonigle, who popped out on 3-0 during an 8-6 loss at Minnesota on April 8 .

Astute X (formerly Twitter) followers will remember I didn't like that 3-0 swing by McGonigle, but it's all about the situation. In that case, there were two on and one out in the eighth inning of a game the Tigers trailed (and eventually lost), 8-6. In that case, the risk wasn't quite worth the reward late in a tight game where it could've been bases loaded with one out and Gleyber Torres coming up.

In Báez's case Friday, leading off an inning early in a game the Tigers already were leading, it was worth a shot to give the team a spark. It's a read-the-room thing. By the way, the Tigers only put balls in play 10 times on 3-0 counts all of 2025.