Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire returns to the team tonight after battling a stomach ailment that caused him to leave Saturday’s game against the Twins, and remain in the clubhouse for the subsequent games on Sunday and Monday.
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“I think I just ate something wrong, and it didn’t do very well in my system,” Gardenhire said. “Really got to my stomach. I think there was a little bit more to it than a virus.”
Combined with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that he’s among the highest at risk for contracting the illness at age 62, Gardenhire is focused on taking care of himself. He also underwent mandatory testing for the illness, as required for any player or coach that has an illness.
“My health is just, I have to take care of myself,” Gardenhire said. “I know my age. I know what’s going on in this world. And I have to be very concerned. That’s why I stepped back and stayed away for a day or two.”
“So, a guy came to my house, did the nose swab, and everything came out negative, which we all thought it would,” Gardenhire said. “I haven’t been outside of my house and the ballpark. I don’t do those things.”
In the meantime, Gardenhire also had a message for the slumping Isaac Paredes, who hasn’t recorded a hit in his last 18 at-bats.
“This is what happens in the big leagues,” he said. “There’s a lot of great pitchers, and you’re a kid, and you’re going to get some things called that might not be strikes, and you have to handle them better and not let it run your AB.”
The Tigers look to get back into the win column tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park.
– – Quotes via Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press Link – –
