The News’ Tony Paul gives his quick takes on the Tigers’ 4-3 victory over the White Sox on Friday:
One thing I loved
On Sept. 19, 1970, Jose Cruz made his major-league debut, for the St. Louis Cardinals. On May 31, 1997, Jose Cruz Jr. made his MLB debut, for the Seattle Mariners (against the Tigers). And, on Friday night at Comerica Park, Trei Cruz made his MLB debut, for the Tigers.
Trei made it three generations of Cruz boys to play in the major leagues — just the fifth instance in history.
Here are the others:
Interestingly, with Trei Cruz debuting with the Tigers, four of the five three-generation families have Tigers ties. Both Joe Colemans pitched for the Tigers, Ray Boone played for the Tigers, and Buddy Bell managed the Tigers. (If you want to stretch the Tigers ties, Jerry Hairston Sr. denied the Tigers a perfect game when he singled with two out in the ninth inning against Milt Wilcox in a game in April 1983 in Chicago.)
Trei, 27, a three-time draft pick selected by the Tigers in the third round in 2020 out of Rice, didn’t have the most memorable night at the plate Friday, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. But it still, no doubt, was a special night. Making it even more special, his grandfather (Jose, 78, who played 19 seasons in the majors)) and father (Jose Jr., 52, who played 12 seasons) were in the stands.
One thing I didn’t
Twenty years ago this week, Justin Verlander made his 16th start of his career. We now have to wonder if he’s made his last start for the Tigers — and maybe even the last start of his Hall-of-Fame career.
Verlander, 43, was supposed to start Sunday in his long-awaited return to the Comerica Park mound in the Olde English D, but he was scratched with a setback in his attempted return from a hip injury suffered in late March. Verlander announced Friday he now is dealing with a hamstring issue, too.
Before Friday’s game, Verlander spoke to the media, including The News’ Chris McCosky, and for the first time I can recall, he talked like a man who is acknowledging the end might be near, if not here.
“I’ve always said I want to play until the wheels fall off,” he said. “I don’t know, maybe they are falling off.”
Verlander signed a one-year, $13-million deal with the Tigers in February, and has made one start for them — the 556th of his career and his 381st with the Tigers. Was it his last?
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
Matt Vierling (7) — He hit his first home run in more than a month.
Kerry Carpenter (7)
Dillon Dingler (21) — That’s his sixth game of three hits or more in 2026.
Player of the game
(Season total in parentheses)
Tarik Skubal (5) — He wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders, but he sure was fired up, with some loud (and not exactly PG) words for the White Sox dugout after getting out of the fifth inning. Maybe it lit a spark in the Tigers.
Tigers’ uniform tracker
Next Tigers game
Game 76: White Sox at Tigers, 1:10 Saturday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1
ICYMI: Wednesday’s Tigers recap
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 75: One thing I loved, one thing I didn’t
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tony Paul, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
