Tigers place starting pitcher Casey Mize on 15-day IL with hamstring strain

Pitching has been a major reason for the Detroit Tigers' early success this season, following up on their postseason run last year. But the starting rotation is encountering a setback with the team announcing that Casey Mize has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.

Mize, 28, sustained the injury during Thursday's start against the Colorado Rockies after pitching six innings with one run and three hits allowed, in addition to eight strikeouts. According to Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, Mize felt a "little tweak" that was initially attributed to dehydration.

"Turns out it's a little something, very mild," Hinch explained, <a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="https://www.mlb.com/news/casey-mize-placed-on-injured-list-with-hamstring-injury">via MLB.com</a>. "He probably wasn't going to make the start on Tuesday, which puts us in a tough spot on how long to carry the unknown. In May, we're certainly going to be careful with that, but we expect it to be fine in a short period of time."

What might be a cause for larger concern is that a hamstring injury caused Mize to miss two months last season. He returned in late August and made six appearances for the Tigers during their improbable postseason run. However, Mize did not pitch in the playoffs. Hinch says this is a different injury from the strain Mize suffered last July.

So far this season, Mize has performed like the pitcher Detroit envisioned when selecting him No. 1 overall in the 2018 MLB Draft. In seven starts, he's compiled a 2.53 ERA (second among Tigers starters behind American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal's 2.08) with 35 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings.

Detroit is third in MLB with a team ERA of 3.08 and its starters rank seventh with a 3.36 ERA. The Tigers lead the AL Central at 26-14 going into Sunday's play, 2.5 games ahead of the Kansas City Royals. They also lead the majors in run differential at +77.

Keider Montero (4.15 ERA) will likely take Mize's turn in the rotation on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox. But Hinch apparently plans to use Detroit's bullpen to fill the rotation in the meantime. Chase Lee was called back up from Triple-A Toledo to man Mize's roster spot. He allowed one run and four hits over eight innings with eight strikeouts with Detroit earlier this season.