With bullpen battered and bruised, Tigers turn to infielder to pitch in lopsided loss
The Tigers continued the trend of having position players take the mound during Saturday's lopsided loss to the Yankees.
Down 13-3 in the eighth, Detroit turned to utility infielder Josh Wilson for mop-up duty.
The right-hander started the inning off by giving up a solo home run to the first batter he faced, Chris Young.
He then returned to the mound and retired three of his next four batters.
"You always need fresh arms in the bullpen, and I'm able to help anyway I can," Wilson told FOX Sports Detroit.
But why did Tigers manager Brad Ausmus turn to Wilson in this particular situation?
He's done it before," Ausmus told FOX Sports Detroit. "It wasn't his first time in the mound."
It was Wilson's fourth career pitching appearance, tying him with Skip Schumaker for the most appearances from an active position player. However, it was his first time on the mound since 2009.
Wilson has posted a 9.00 ERA and allowed six hits in four innings. He was the sixth pitcher the Tigers used on Saturday and helped his team eat a meaningless inning.
"If I can keep somebody ready for tomorrow and we have a bit more depth out there so we can win tomorrow," Wilson said, "then that's a good thing."
Wilson's appearance marked the seventh time in five days that a position player was called upon to pitch for his team.
(h/t MLive)
