Detroit Tigers pitchers beware: A buttoned-up Vinnie Pasquantino has become a dangerous hitter.
Pasquantino is 2-for-3 with four RBIs since adjusting his jersey after Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro told the first baseman he looked “awful” playing with his top two buttons open.
Detroit will visit Pasquantino and the Royals on Monday night to open a three-game series.
Pasquantino had been on a hitless streak when Quatraro offered his fashion critique before Kansas City’s home game Saturday against the Oakland Athletics.
The third-year pro initially kept his two buttons undone on Saturday but adjusted his look after starting 0-for-2.
“I said, ‘You know, maybe (Quatraro’s) onto something,'” Pasquantino said.
Pasquantino stepped to the plate in the fifth inning with only his top button open and yanked an RBI single that snapped an 0-for-14 slump and helped the Royals to a 5-3 win.
“That was a relief for him, for sure,” Quatraro said. “It looked more professional.”
Pasquantino took it a step further on Sunday when he donned a fully buttoned jersey to pinch-hit with the bases loaded in the sixth inning.
After falling behind 1-2, Pasquantino hit his first career triple that scored three runs and opened a 7-1 lead for Kansas City.
Pasquantino was unsure after Saturday’s game whether he would keep the neater look. He sounded as if he was coming around on the idea following Sunday’s 8-4 win.
“(My neck) was very buttoned up, and I suppose we’ll keep that going,” Pasquantino said. “It’s worked.”
Sunday’s victory gave the Royals a three-game sweep of the A’s and propelled them to a 29-19 record this season. Kansas City is 10 games above .500 for the first time since 2015, the Royals’ most recent World Series season.
Another October run is far from Quatraro’s mind, however.
“It’s one day at a time, and the best we can do is go one game over today,” he said.
Kansas City on Monday will dig in against Tigers right-hander Reese Olson, whose sparkling efforts have been riddled by futile run support.
Olson (0-4, 2.09 ERA) is tied with the Houston Astros’ Ronel Blanco for MLB’s seventh-lowest ERA, but Detroit has only 17 runs over Olson’s eight outings.
The 24-year-old right-hander took a no-decision despite throwing eight shutout innings in the Tigers’ 1-0 home loss in 10 innings to the Miami Marlins on Tuesday.
Olson’s tough luck is historic.
OptaSTATS reported that Olson is the first pitcher to have an 0-4 or worse record with a sub-2.25 ERA over his first eight starts in a season since ERA became a stat in 1913.
Detroit manager A.J. Hinch remains more focused on the minimal runs Olson has allowed instead of the few he has received from the Tigers’ hitters.
“I don’t pay a ton of attention to the unluckiness … He’s doing his part,” Hinch said on Tuesday, per MLive.com. “He’s had tough luck, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t done a really good job. He hasn’t complained about anything, nor should he. He’s putting up zeros. That’s his part.”
Olson is 0-1 with a 2.41 ERA in three career starts against the Royals. He held Kansas City to one run over seven innings but shouldered the loss in an 8-0 road defeat on April 26.
Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (3-4, 4.71 ERA) will start on Monday. The 12-year veteran is 1-1 with a 3.43 ERA in his career against Detroit over five appearances (four starts).
The Tigers head into Kansas City at 23-23 after winning two of three against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. Detroit scored a season-high 13 runs in Friday’s shutout win and added an 8-3 victory Saturday before falling 6-4 on Sunday.
Tigers shortstop Javier Baez went 8-for-13 with seven RBIs in the series.
–Field Level Media