LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-1, on Thursday at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
The Tigers are 11-10 in Grapefruit League play.
What happened
Right-hander Spencer Turnbull felt like his mechanics were out of whack from the moment he stepped in the bullpen to warm up. The inconsistencies translated to his third start in spring training.
The 30-year-old allowed three runs on six hits with zero walks and four strikeouts in three innings. He threw 51 pitches (35 strikes) and tossed an additional 12-15 pitches after his outing.
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Two relievers competing for spots in the bullpen on the Opening Day roster — right-hander Trey Wingenter and left-hander Chasen Shreve — looked sharp in the fifth and sixth innings.
Wingenter, who hasn’t allowed a run in five innings this spring, struck out two in a perfect fifth inning, throwing 10 of 16 pitches for strikes. He registered five whiffs, including four with his slider, and his fastball averaged 96.5 mph.
Shreve, who has a 1.69 ERA in 5⅓ innings, struck out one batter and worked around a two-out single in the sixth inning, throwing 11 of 17 pitches for strikes. He generated four whiffs, two each with his changeup and slider.
Right-hander Garrett Hill took over for the eighth and ninth innings. He could pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen, either in Detroit or in Triple-A Toledo, coming out of spring training.
Hill pitched a perfect eighth inning before crumbling in the ninth. He allowed a double and hit two batters to load the bases with one out. That’s when Cade Fergus blasted a grand slam to left field, making it 10-1.
Starting off
The Phillies attacked Turnbull from the beginning.
Bryson Stott, the leadoff hitter, hammered a fourth-pitch four-seam fastball for an opposite-field solo home run to left-center field. The next batter, Edmundo Sosa, ripped a sinker for a single.
Turnbull avoided further damage by striking out ex-Tiger Kody Clemens. He looked sharp in the second inning with three strikeouts — Weston Wilson (94.3 mph sinker), Jim Haley (87.3 mph slider) and Carlos De La Cruz (95.1 mph sinker) — before falling…