00:01There's an unwritten rule for position players who pitch in a loss, at least in the Tigers
00:05clubhouse.
00:05They very rarely talk after the game, no matter how they perform.
00:09It's nothing personal.
00:10It's just a manifestation of what is often literally a thankless role.
00:14If they're pitching, it almost always means the Tigers are down big as they were on Tuesday
00:18after an onslaught of Brewers runs all night.
00:20Still, as Jake Rogers' knuckleball fluttered toward the plate and sent Joey Ortiz swinging
00:24at air, to the delight of what remained of the crowd at Comerica Park, it was obvious
00:29this moment meant more than simply recording the first out of the ninth inning.
00:33Catcher Dylan Dingler pointed out to his catching counterpart on the mound, then raised his hand
00:38to get a new baseball from plate umpire Emil Jimenez.
00:41He tucked away the ball from the strikeout to give to Rogers, who had signaled for it.
00:46Rogers' scoreless ninth inning marked his sixth career.
00:49Appearance on the mound.
00:51Ortiz became his first major league strikeout victim as a pitcher.
00:54Rogers politely declined an interview request after Tuesday's 12-4 loss, staying true to
00:59the clubhouse code, but the sequence clearly signified something more than just one of
01:04the Tigers' few bright spots in a dreary performance.
01:08I am glad that we got a little bit of positive energy out of Jake pitching and then get a
01:13couple
01:13runs, manager A.J.
01:15Hinch said.
01:16It was not quite like former Tiger Cody Clemens getting a called third strike on then-angel
01:20Shohei Otani for his first strikeout in 2022, but Rogers fanned a big league hitter, and he
01:25did it with his project pitch.
01:27Rogers has tinkered with a knuckleball for years, but he did not feel comfortable unleashing
01:31it in games until he made repeated appearances last season.
01:35Most position players who pitch enter the game with instructions to throw easy fastballs or
01:40simply float the ball in so as not to strain the arm.
01:44Additionally, a fluttering knuckleball can drive a catcher crazy, which is why full-time knuckleball
01:50pitchers like Tigers minor leaguer Kenny Surwa often require a larger mitt for their catchers.
01:56However, Rogers put in the side work last summer to make his knuckleball a presentable
02:00pitch.
02:01That's like the first pitch I ever threw, Rogers explained last June.
02:05Literally my dad, when I was like 10 years old, was like, hey, throw this.
02:10So I've been throwing a knuckleball forever.
02:12Who knows if it's good or not.
02:13I mean, it's good in catch play, but when you get up there, on the mound, it's different.
02:18I've always been kinda wanting to throw it in a game, but obviously it's not a, it's
02:23fun for me to be up there and enjoy it, but a lot of times it's when we're getting our
02:26butts kicked, so, it's not a great time to be joking around, but, I've always wanted to
02:32throw it.
02:33Rogers finally felt comfortable enough to unveil it in a game a month later, though he did
02:37not get a swing and miss on it that time.
02:40It's good, yeah, Dingler said after Rogers threw a few during a scoreless inning against
02:45the Blue Jays last July.
02:47Don't tell him that though, he might start trying to throw it all the time.
02:51He has not done that.
02:52Rogers, 2-2 pitch to Ortiz, was the only knuckleball he threw on Tuesday.
02:58Rogers was not locating his Ephus pitch, and Ortiz had just fouled off a 75-meh-ph fastball,
03:05so he and Dingler went to his third option.
03:08Ortiz swung over it as the pitch fluttered.
03:11If you love spin rates, consider this.
03:13Rogers' strikeout pitch came in at 128 RPM, according to StatCast, Tarek Skubal, Casey
03:20Mize, and Jack Flaherty, three pitchers who are used to throwing to Rogers, were trying
03:24to keep a straight face in the dugout.
03:27Rogers got a pop-out from Luis Matos on his very next pitch, a 53-emph Ephus that Dingler
03:33camped under.
03:34Back-to-back ground ball singles extended the inning for Bryce Terang, but Rogers used
03:40back-to-back Ephus pitches to set up a 79-mph heater.
03:44Terang hit a 101.9-mph line drive, but it went directly to left fielder Riley Green for
03:51the final out.
03:52Rogers' teammates, much like him, were trying to balance their emotions in the moment.
03:57It was pretty cool, Kevin McGonigal said.
04:00Of course, it stinks that it had to happen.
04:02When a catcher takes the mound and finally lets that knuckleball fly after years of tinkering,
04:07it forces you to find the silver lining even on a tough night at the ballpark.
04:11How much do you think moments like this matter for a team's morale over the course of a long
04:16season, or is it just a fun footnote in a game you'd rather forget?
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