TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) – Injured Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers threw three-plus innings and displayed some defensive prowess in his first rehabilitation start for Triple-A Toledo on Sunday night.
Rogers faced 13 batters and threw 51 pitches, 35 of them strikes, in the Mud Hens’ 2-1 win over the Norfolk Tides. His fastball topped out at 88 mph before he left with a 1-0 lead with two outs in the fourth inning.
The 42-year-old left hander has been on the disabled list all season and had surgery March 30 to remove a blood clot from his left shoulder and repair arteries.
Rogers struck out two and allowed three hits with no walks. After giving up a one-out single in the third inning, Rogers picked off Norfolk’s Tike Redman with a quick throw to first. He also cleanly fielded a sharp grounder from Mike Cervenak and threw to first to record his final out of the start.
Rogers went 17-8 with a 3.48 ERA last year and won all three of his postseason starts while not allowing a run in 23 innings for the AL champions. Before surgery, he was 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA in five exhibition starts during spring training.
Rogers’ rehabilitation schedule has projected him rejoining the Tigers in July, but Rogers has said he hopes to return to the rotation in June.
Add A Comment