LOS ANGELES -- Imagine an angel and a devil on either shoulder of Spencer Torkelson as he stepped to the plate Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Good Tork vs. Bad Tork.
He saw 28 pitches over five plate appearances. He swung and missed at just two. There were a few more, he admits, that he might have chased last year.
"Yeah, just because of the approach,¡± he said. ¡°I'm not trying to do too much out there. That little guy on your shoulder's telling you try to hit this one 450 feet, and then all of a sudden your approach is out the window, your eyes speed up. And obviously Major League pitchers are good, but they're even better when your eyes are moving all over the place and you're pulling your head. To dumb down the approach and not try to do too much has really helped me see the ball.¡±
On one shoulder, the bad influence is trying to get Torkelson to chase. On the other shoulder, the good influence is convincing him to stay with the plan.
"Yup,¡± he laughed, ¡°having conversations with each other.¡±
On Thursday, the Good Tork won out. The Tigers still lost in a 5-4 heartbreaker to the Dodgers, but if this is the version of Torkelson that the Tigers can get all season, their offense has a chance to be much more potent.
Torkelson walked four times, including three times on 3-2 pitches. The one ball he put in play went 423 feet to left field for a home run to slug Detroit back into the ballgame.
He became just the third Tiger in the expansion era (since 1961) to draw four walks (none intentional) and homer in the same game, joining Travis Fryman (July 15, 1994 at Kansas City) and Jason Thompson (May 3, 1979 at Minnesota).
Torkelson also became the first Major League player with four walks and a homer on Opening Day in the modern era (since 1901).
After a Spring Training of locking in a new approach, Torkelson backed it up against one of baseball¡¯s toughest pitching staffs. In the process, he reminded manager A.J. Hinch why it was worth fitting him onto the roster after replacing him at first base.
Asked what he liked about Torkelson¡¯s performance, Hinch simply said, ¡°Everything.¡±
Even in the frustration of a one-run loss that saw the Tigers go 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position, Torkelson¡¯s performance was a building block.
"Like, every single thing at the plate for him was really good,¡± Hinch continued. ¡°I don't know that I've seen too many four-walk games out of anybody, and then cap it with a homer. He swung the bat really well, controlled the zone. Everything about his offensive approach tonight was awesome.¡±
Torkelson was responsible for three of Blake Snell¡¯s four walks. Facing lefties like Snell is a big part of his job, but he was unfazed by Snell¡¯s change of speeds, the kind of deception that could have flummoxed him last year.
"The gameplan was definitely to kind of keyhole a little bit, make him come to us,¡± Torkelson said.
Torkelson¡¯s five-pitch walk led off a second-inning rally. A misread on Colt Keith¡¯s squibber in front of home plate left Torkelson caught between third and home, but he provided more opportunities.
Next time up leading off the fourth, Torkelson laid off Snell¡¯s full-count fastball just above the zone. This time, he came around to score Detroit¡¯s first run on a wild pitch.
An inning later, Snell tried to get him to chase a 3-2 breaking ball in the dirt. Torkelson declined, drawing a one-out pass that loaded the bases for Manuel Margot¡¯s go-ahead sacrifice fly.
The first time Torkelson fell behind in a two-strike count was the time he unleashed his best swing. Alex Vesia, having gotten Torkelson to foul off a fastball in the zone for a 1-2 count, tried to finish him on the same pitch, a tad further in. Torkelson turned on it.
"That's just straight two-strike approach,¡± he said. ¡°Don't be short to the ball, get something out over. I just pulled the hands in. Wasn't trying to do that. It just happened.¡±
Still not done, Torkelson battled out of a 1-2 hole against Dodgers closer Blake Treinen in the ninth, fouling off a tough sweeper on the corner before taking a fastball in to put the potential go-ahead run on base.
"I feel like I'm just having an approach from Day 1 [of Spring Training] and sticking to it for two months,¡± he said. ¡°It's still not perfect, still got a lot of work to do. But it definitely feels like the approach is in a good spot.¡±