For the Tigers, Reese Olson got back on track, but another brilliant opportunity was sadly lost.
Despite adding another “L” to his record for the year, starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers Reese Olson added another gem to his 2024 résumé on Monday. Olson pitched six and a third innings, striking out eight Texas Rangers and giving up just one run with a fastball that was hitting close to 96 mph and an almost unhittable changeup. He pitched 95 pitches and gave up six hits along with a walk.
Unfortunately, he received little assistance from his batting order despite having support from his defense—a recurring trend this season. The Tigers added seven more strikeouts to their total while leaving eight runners on base, partly because of three GIDPs that ended rallies. The outcome was the team’s first-ever 1-0 loss in the season.
The Tigers recorded four of those in 2023. For the Tigers, Reese Olson got back on track.
Olson’s performance in his first two starts of the year was inconsistent. In the first game, he maintained a shutout through the sixth inning, but the bullpen won the remainder of the game for him. Against him, the Pirates scored six runs in his second game. Olson threw 14 of the 16 hottest pitches seen by batters on either team, with an average fastball velocity of 94.3 mph. The pitch of the game that was most effective was Olson’s changeup. Rangers players attempted to intercept his 28 throws, making 16 attempts. Ten times, they erred (63% of swings, 36% of throws). Olson appeared to mostly use his slider or sinker early on in order to set up the changeup, but after going through the lineup twice, he went
Olson struck out three times on changeups. Baseball Savant reports that Olson threw the slider 21 times and only gave up five whiffs, making it another effective pitch. Rangers batters struck out many times on the field and missed 42% of the opportunities they had. Olson can improve on this game, but ultimately, it seems like the Tigers lost out on yet another exasperating chance.