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Detroit Tigers matchups vs Cleveland Guardians pitchers in AL Central
On “Days of Roar,” Cleveland Guardians beat writer Paul Hoynes breaks down the starting pitchers vs. the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central showdown.
CLEVELAND — The Detroit Tigers can’t win a baseball game.
The former American League Central leaders are responsible for eight losses in a row, 11 losses in 12 games — and just seven wins in their past 27 games.
The Tigers lost, 5-1, to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, Sept. 24, in the second of three games in the series at Progressive Field. The Guardians have a one-game lead in the AL Central race, along with already clinching the tiebreaker.
As the Tigers (85-73) continue to collapse, the Guardians (86-72) continue to climb with 17 wins in their past 19 games, including five wins in five games against the Tigers.
In Wednesday’s loss, a two-run home run by George Valera in his 13th MLB game off right-hander Jack Flaherty in the third inning made the difference.
The seventh inning encapsulated the Tigers’ problems.
The Tigers put pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones in right field and right-handed reliever Rafael Montero on the mound in a key spot, but both moves ended up hurting the Tigers — and the Guardians took a 5-1 lead with a two-run inning.
Montero walked the first batter on five pitches, Jones pulled up on a ball he should’ve caught for a single, and Montero walked the third batter on eight pitches. (Before Montero’s second walk, catcher Dillon Dingler dropped a pop up in foul territory for an error.)
That’s how the Guardians loaded the bases with no outs.
Right-handed reliever Will Vest nearly escaped without allowing any runs, but with two strikes and two outs, the ever-dangerous José Ramírez drove in two runs with a clutch double, making it 5-1 Guardians.
The hard-hit ground ball deflected off second baseman Gleyber Torres’ glove and rolled into right field.
The Tigers and Guardians are scheduled to play Thursday (6:40 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) in the finale of the three-game series between AL Central rivals.
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Jack Flaherty finishes with 4.64 ERA
Flaherty allowed three runs on five hits and zero walks with six strikeouts across 4⅓ innings, throwing 83 pitches. The 29-year-old could’ve pitched deeper into the game, but the Guardians chased him in the fifth inning.
It was his final start of 2025 season.
He finished with a 4.24 ERA in 31 starts.
In the fifth inning, Brayan Rocchio hit a single to center field with one out, then stole to second base to move into scoring position. Steven Kwan made Flaherty pay with an RBI single by hitting a middle-middle fastball into left field.
Not only did Kwan’s single extend the Guardians’ lead to 3-1, but it also chased Flaherty.
Before Kwan delivered a key swing, the Guardians took a 2-1 lead on Valera’s two-run home run in the third inning. He hit Flaherty’s first-pitch curveball that stayed inside the strike zone. The ball eluded the outstretched glove of center fielder Parker Meadows, landing over the wall.
Tanner Bibee battles
For the Guardians, right-hander Tanner Bibee allowed one run on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts across six innings, throwing 105 pitches.
The Tigers scored their lone run in the third inning.
Meadows produced a sacrifice fly after back-to-back singles from Dingler and Trey Sweeney. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead on the sacrifice fly, but after Gleyber Torres’ ensuing single, Kerry Carpenter grounded out to strand two runners.
Two runners were stranded in the fourth inning, as both Zach McKinstry and Dingler grounded into force outs after Spencer Torkelson’s single and Wenceel Pérez’s walk.
The Tigers have scored just 28 runs in their past 12 games.
That’s an average of 2.3 runs per game.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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