Tigers' Alex Lange: Falls apart in non-save situation
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Lange (3-1) allowed four runs on two hits and two walks with one strikeout in one-third of an inning, taking the loss Sunday versus the White Sox.
Lange had allowed just three runs all season entering Sunday, but that changed in a sloppy outing that culminated in Jake Burger's walk-off grand slam. While the end result is an ugly one, Lange has still pitched well enough to earn the benefit of the doubt. He's now at a 2.55 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 35:13 K:BB with 10 saves in 11 chances over 24.2 innings this season. Lange's 4.7 BB/9 makes outings like Sunday's a potential pitfall, but he's shown a solid ability to pitch around traffic so far.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Records 10th save
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Lange pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record the save in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Rangers. He walked one and struck out two.
Lange continues to roll along, as he now has 10 saves in 11 chances along with a sparkling 1.16 ERA. The righty has also struck out 32 batters in 23.1 innings. With this strong start to the season, Lange has firmly established himself as Detroit's closer, and he's been one of the better relief options in the entire league to this point.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Earns win Sunday
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Lange (3-0) pitched a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win in Sunday's 10-inning contest against the White Sox. He struck out two.
Lange pitched the top of the 10th inning in a 5-5 tie and made quick work of Chicago on 12 pitches. He then earned the win when the Tigers plated one in the bottom half of the inning. Lange has been excellent this season, as he's now sitting on a 1.21 ERA and has struck out 30 batters in just 22.1 innings. The righty also leads the team with nine saves. If Detroit can continue to hover around .500, Lange should see plenty of opportunities moving forward.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Allows run but picks up save
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Lange allowed a run on one hit but managed to earn the save in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Royals. He struck out one.
Lange allowed his first run since early April, a streak of 16 consecutive appearances, but he was still able to shut the door for his ninth save in 10 chances. The righty has firmly established himself as Detroit's closer, and he has a sparkling 1.27 ERA and 28 strikeouts across 21.1 innings so far this year.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Notches eighth save
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Lange struck out two in 1.1 perfect innings to record his eighth save of the season in Friday's 8-6 win over the Nationals.
The right-hander needed only 13 pitches (nine strikes) to shut down the bottom of Washington's order. It's been over a month since Lange allowed a run, as he's reeled off 15 straight scoreless appearances, and the 27-year-old sports a 0.98 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 34.7 percent strikeout rate through 18.1 innings on the season. While little has gone right for the Tigers this season, they do seem to have found an elite high-leverage arm in Lange.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Nails down seventh save
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Lange worked around two walks to pitch a scoreless inning and earn the save in Sunday's win over the Mariners. He struck out two.
Lange is now 7-for-8 in save opportunities this season and has his ERA down to a sparkling 1.06. The righty has done it by missing plenty of bats, as he now has 23 strikeouts across 17 innings. Lange had 82 strikeouts in 63.1 innings last year, so it doesn't look like a fluke. With Gregory Soto now in Philadelphia, Lange is locked in as the team's most trusted end-game option, and he has the stuff to put up good numbers the rest of the way.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Earns sixth save
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Lange allowed a hit and struck out three in one inning to earn the save in Friday's 5-4 win over the Cardinals.
Lange issued a leadoff double to Paul Goldschmidt, then struck out Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Dylan Carlson in order. After a shaky start to the season, Lange has strung together 12 scoreless innings. He's up to six saves and a hold while posting a 1.15 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 21:6 K:BB across 15.2 innings overall.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Nails down third save
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Lange recorded his third save of the season in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Orioles, giving up two hits and striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning.
The right-hander made things interesting, as he needed 23 pitches (15 strikes) to protect a 7-4 lead, but Lange eventually struck out Ryan Mountcastle to end the matinee. Lange hasn't been tagged with a run in eight straight appearances, posting a 13:2 K:BB through 8.1 innings over that stretch, and while Jason Foley has also been effective in a high-leverage role for Detroit, Lange appears to be tightening his hold on the closer job.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Secures second save
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Lange struck out two batters in a perfect inning and earned a save over Milwaukee on Monday.
Lange tossed nine of 14 pitches for strikes in the dominant outing, including four whiffs. He's turned in seven straight scoreless appearances, posting an 11:2 K:BB during that stretch. He lowered his season ERA to 1.64 and has converted his last two save opportunities after blowing his first chance April 3.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Records first save
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Lange tossed a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Blue Jays. He struck out one.
Lange blew his only other save opportunity so far this season back on April 3, but he had more success Thursday and lowered his ERA to 3.18. With the Tigers sitting at 3-9, it's not surprising that they haven't presented many save chances. Lange should remain the team's closer with some threats behind him, though his fantasy appeal takes a hit due to the team context.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Blows first save chance
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Lange allowed a run on two hits and a walk in one inning during Monday's win over Houston. He was charged with a blown save.
Entering the game with a 5-4 lead, Lange coughed up an RBI double to Jose Abreu to force extra innings. It was Lange's first save opportunity of the year. He primarily relied on his curveball, which forced four whiffs on nine swings.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Still struggling with control
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Lange, who walked a batter in a scoreless inning during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies, now has eight free passes in six innings this spring.
Lange has also struck out eight and has limited batters to a .190 average in Grapefruit League action, so he's been pretty good when he's throwing strikes. The righty has had a BB/9 of 4.0 or higher in each of his two MLB seasons, and if that continues this year, he'll be a volatile fantasy asset. However, Lange appears to be Detroit's most likely option to begin the season as the closer, so there should be fantasy value here as long as he's converting saves.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Could be most likely closer option
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Lange is the most likely candidate to open the regular season as the Tigers closer, Cody Stavengagen of The Athletic reports.
While he doesn't expect manager A.J. Hinch to anoint a closer anytime soon, Stavenhagen believes Lange is best suited for the role due to his stuff and demeanor. It tracks with what the common perception has been regarding the Tigers' bullpen situation following the trades of Gregory Soto and Joe Jimenez. Lange's control can evade him at times -- and it has this spring with a 5:6 K:BB over four innings -- but he has swing-and-miss stuff and no platoon split. Hinch might not settle on one guy, but Lange does seem to be the best player for fantasy managers to target.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Path to saves appears
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Lange could have a path to the closer role in Detroit, as Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that Gregory Soto was traded to the Phillies on Saturday.
Lange has just one career save, and the Tigers have yet to announce their plans for the ninth inning, but the righty appears to be the logical choice with Soto, Joe Jimenez and Andrew Chafin all leaving this winter. Will Vest is the only Tiger remaining on the roster who saved any games last season, but his 4.00 ERA hardly turns heads. Lange managed a 3.41 ERA in his first full season and struck out 30.3 percent of opposing batters.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Secures win in relief
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Lange (7-4) pitched a scoreless inning of relief and earned the win Sunday against the Twins. He struck out two.
Lange has worked in a middle-relief role all season with no saves, though he's had some fantasy value with the seven wins, which are actually tied for the most on the team. Reliever wins are volatile, however, so it's unclear if Lange will maintain as much fantasy appeal in 2023 if he's still setting up Gregory Soto in the Detroit bullpen.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Takes loss Friday
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Lange (4-3) allowed two runs on three hits and a walk across an inning of relief to take the loss Friday against the White Sox. He struck out one.
Daniel Norris and Jason Foley kept Chicago off the board for six innings, but Lange struggled in the seventh. It's the second time this month he's allowed two or more runs in an appearance, and his 9.00 ERA in August reflects those struggles. Lange has been better over the full season, however, with a 3.40 ERA and 60 strikeouts across 45 innings. Those 45 innings are a new career high at the major-league level, so it's possible his recent downward trend is at least partly due to fatigue.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Takes second loss
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Lange (4-2) allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits while retiring just two batters to take the loss and a blown save Monday against the Twins.
Lange was tasked with the bottom of the 10th inning with the Tigers up 3-2, but the righty struggled. A Jose Miranda single with one out brought home the runner who started the frame on second. Then, two batters later, Gio Urshela ended the game with a walk-off, two-run home run. Lange has mostly pitched well, though Minnesota has touched him up for four earned runs in two appearances this past week. The 26-year-old still carries a solid 3.10 ERA despite the hiccup and should remain one of Detroit's top relief options.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Picks up win Thursday
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Lange (3-1) pitched a scoreless inning of relief and earned the win Thursday against the Twins. He walked two and struck out one.
Lange was able to work around the two walks to tally his 10th scoreless appearance across his past 11 outings. The righty has been a bright spot for the 21-30 Tigers, as he now has a 1.74 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 26 strikeouts across 20.2 innings this season. Gregory Soto has also pitched well and seems decently secure in the closer role, but Lange should continue to see high-leverage work.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Gains traction in late innings
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Lange struck out three and gave up no hits and one walk over 1.1 scoreless innings en route to claiming his fifth hold of the season Sunday in the Tigers' 4-2 win over the Guardians.
Three of Lange's holds have come in his last four appearances, as manager A.J. Hinch has elected to carve out a key late-inning role for the right-hander in light of his hot start to the season. Through 18 appearances spanning 15.2 innings, Lange has allowed three earned runs on seven hits and six walks while whiffing 19.
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Tigers' Alex Lange: Earns win in relief
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Lange (1-3) earned the win in relief Thursday against the Twins after tossing 1.1 scoreless innings, fanning two.
Lange tossed a second straight scoreless outing and enjoyed a strong September, tossing 10 scoreless appearances out of 12 trips to the mound and racking up one save, three holds and a 2.03 ERA with a 13:3 K:BB across 13.1 innings. He's made 35 appearances on the year and owns a 4.08 ERA in that span, but he's ending the campaign with excellent results over the last few weeks.
