Zack Short comes up big as Tigers top Orioles in doubleheader opener

Detroit — It’s been a bit of a mystery, frankly.

With all the roster purging that’s gone on since president Scott Harris took the helm, with all the multiple-positional players that have come and gone the last three years, Zack Short has remained a constant. Not once since he was acquired from the Cubs for Cameron Maybin in 2020 has he been removed from the Tigers’ 40-man roster.

That fact has not been lost on him.

“That’s great, but at the same time, you want to prove them right,” Short said. “They’re keeping me on for a reason and it’s like, ‘I’m going to prove you guys right.’ That’s the mindset."

Short did exactly that in the Tigers’ 7-4 win in Game 1 of the doubleheader Saturday against the Orioles.

BOX SCORE: Tigers 7, Orioles 4

Called up to serve as the 27th man, Short delivered three hits, including a 418-foot home run leading off the eighth inning that provided the three-run cushion.

“That one felt good,” he said. “Anytime you have the opportunity to play, no matter what level you’re at, especially at the highest level, you obviously try to make the most of it. I can’t say I saw all that happening today. But that’s why you play. You never know what can happen.

“You have to enjoy every time you have that jersey on.”

Short also made several sterling plays at shortstop. He started a 6-3 double play on a ball hit up the middle by Jorge Mateo in the fourth inning. He made a slick sliding play on a hard-hit ball up the middle and threw out pinch-hitter Adam Frazier in the seventh. He took a hit away from Cedric Mullins with a diving play going to his right in the ninth inning.

“Tremendous plays on defense,” manager AJ Hinch said. “It was great to see him come through.”

Short, before his at-bat in the eighth, smartly asked Hinch if he should take a pitch. The Orioles had scored three runs in the top of the eighth — a three-run home run by Mateo — and reliever Alex Lange was starting to warm up in the bullpen.

“I said, ‘Am I taking a pitch or am I good to swing?’” Short said. “He said, ‘No, get a good pitch and swing.’”

"I also got further advice from Eric Haase," Hinch said. "He told me to tell Shorty to hit it out of the ballpark."

Short unloaded on a first-pitch fastball from lefty reliever DL Hall.

“I remember vividly, in my head, when I saw the ball go up, like, I’m going to say something to AJ,” Short said. “But before I could say something, he was saying, ‘That’s a good one to swing at.’”

Most of the offensive fireworks came early for the Tigers. They came into the game hitting a chilly .189 with runners in scoring position.

That particular shortcoming has been most prominent in four losses to the Orioles — three in Baltimore where they managed only a single run in each game and especially on Thursday when they went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 15 runners on base in a 7-4 loss.

Script flipped. They produced four run-scoring hits in the first three innings, including two pivotal two-out knocks by right fielder Matt Vierling. His two-out single in the first inning plated two runs. His two-out double to the right-center field gap drove in another run in the third.

“That’s what we’ve been missing for a while,” Hinch said. “It’s been something that’s been talked about and written about, it’s a conversation all the time. You want to see results. These guys are battling and we’ve left so many guys on base.

“But after a win, I don’t get asked about the 10 guys left on base because we did something with the other opportunities.”

Javier Báez and Riley Greene also had RBI singles. Vierling finished the day with a single, two doubles and four RBIs. He is 9-for-19 in his last six games.

Vierling, who came into the game tied for second among big-league right fielders with a plus-4 defensive runs saved, also stole a hit from Ryan Mountcastle with a diving catch in the third inning.

“When we talk about clean baseball, yes, handling the ball is important,” Hinch said. “Coming through at the right time and having a good at-bat at the right time is definitely important, especially when you have your big boy on the mound who’s been throwing the ball extremely well — you want to make sure you play clean.”

The big boy, of course, is lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who pitched perfect baseball for 6⅔ innings against the Orioles six days ago. His encore was pretty stout, too.

He allowed one run and four hits in 5⅔ innings. He struck out five. The lone run, which stopped his scoreless innings streak at 18, came on a 419-foot home run by former Tiger James McCann. Both of McCann’s homers this season have come against the Tigers.

“It feels to go out there and put up zeros,” he said. “I don’t look at how many I got in a row. I just go out and put up as many zeros as I can to help the team win.”

Rodriguez is now 14-5 with a 2.70 ERA against the Orioles in his career.

Alas, Short was not in the starting lineup for Game 2.

“My rookie year I got called up for a doubleheader and I hit a homer and a double,” Short said. “I wasn’t supposed to play in the second game but he put me in there and I went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. He might’ve had that in the back of his mind (laughing).”

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @cmccosky