DETROIT -- The box score from the Tigers’ 11-4 win over the Athletics on Tuesday shows sidearming rookie right-hander Chase Lee with a hold for a scoreless seventh inning on three singles. It does not show Wenceel Pérez with a save, but his arm might have deserved one.
Twice, the Athletics tried stretching seventh-inning singles into doubles to spark a rally. Twice, the Tigers' right fielder threw them out at second.
Not bad for a converted infield prospect who was once used to being on the receiving end of such throws, not making them.
"Wenceel, on both sides of the ball tonight, was a huge contributor to this win,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
Lee replaced starter Tarik Skubal for the seventh with a 9-4 lead. Tyler Soderstrom greeted the right-hander by ripping a line drive that one-hopped off the right-field fence.
Soderstrom immediately made the aggressive turn for second, but Pérez played the ball off the bounce at shoulder level and threw a strike on one hop to Javier Báez, who had plenty of time to apply the tag for the first out of the inning.
After Denzel Clarke singled to center, A’s rookie shortstop and All-Star candidate Jacob Wilson laced a line drive into right, this one closer to the line. Not only did Pérez have to chase it down, he had to spin and throw to second as Wilson tried to follow Clarke into scoring position.
Again, Pérez threw on target, hitting Báez in the glove on the bounce and putting it right in the sliding path of Wilson, who had nowhere to go but back to the dugout as the second out of the inning.
Pérez had more outfield assists in three batters in Tuesday's game than he did in his first 127 career outfield appearances combined. He threw out Kansas City’s MJ Melendez at second base on a similar play last Aug. 3 at Comerica Park, providing a critical out in a 6-5 win.
Pérez is a more comfortable outfielder now.
"I feel way better than last year,” he said. “As a [former] infielder, you have to keep working on it and do a lot of reps with the turns and the fly balls. With time, you figure it out.”
Hinch credited bench coach George Lombard and first-base coach Anthony Iapoce with helping Pérez, a middle infielder in the Tigers' system until a couple years ago shortly before his callup, make the adjustment.
"I see him slowing the game down,” Hinch said, “and his rhythm and his timing are fundamental. … There’s a pace to this that he’s learning in the outfield at this level. I would say that you have to hurry, but don’t rush. You have one shot at grabbing the ball. You have a one-hopper. You have the best guy you could possibly throw to, to deliver a tag. And there’s that sequence that he’s really growing into understanding his timing. He’s not slow, but he’s slowing the game down, and that’s encouraging.”