Former No. 1 pick makes first appearance in nearly two years for Tigers

As if it wasn't bad enough that Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize had to wait almost two years for his next major league appearance, he had to endure another two days because of bad weather.

But he finally took the mound in a big-league contest on Thursday afternoon for the first time since April 14, 2022 — a span of 721 days — as the starter in the first game of a traditional doubleheader against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mize allowed three runs, all earned, and five hits, walking two and striking out four over 4 1/3 innings in a Tigers' 6-3 win that required extra innings.

Mize, 26, was originally scheduled to pitch on Tuesday but the game was rained out. That pushed things back to Wednesday but the game was again postponed, because of rain and snow.  

The first overall pick of the 2018 Major League Draft out of Auburn University, Mize underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in June 2022.

Mize, who is from Springville, Alabama, was 7-13 with a 4.29 ERA in 39 starts in 188 2/3 innings from 2020 to 2022.

On Thursday he threw 87 pitches, 56 for strikes, to 21 batters. Mize's average fastball was 94.4 mph, according to Statcast. That was 1.2 mph faster than his average fastball speed in 2022. Mize also generated 10 swings and misses.

Detroit improved to 5-0 and is the last undefeated team in the majors. The second game of the doubleheader was scheduled for 3:40 p.m. ET. But the 11-inning opener did not end until after 3:30 p.m.