The News’ Andrew Graham gives his quick takes on the Tigers’ 3-2 loss in 10 innings to the Guardians on Wednesday:
One thing I loved
The Tigers’ bullpen for the first eight innings was awesome. We shall discuss the ninth in a moment.
Drew Anderson dazzled in the start, going 4.2 shutout innings with two hits, two walks and seven strikeouts. Kyle Finnegan followed and then got into some trouble.
AJ Hinch went to Brant Hurter out of the bullpen in the top of the sixth inning deserves some plaudits.
With runners on first and second base, two outs, and touted lefty-hitting prospect Travis Bazzana pinch hitting and the Tigers and Guardians locked in a 0-0 stalemate to that point, Hinch went for the left-on-left matchup. It worked out, with Hurter getting an out on the infield in two pitches — though he did need to hoof it to first base to cover and get the final out of the frame.
Either way, that out proved crucial as Detroit tacked on a run to take a 1-0 lead on a Matt Vierling sacrifice fly that scored Kevin McGonigle in the bottom of the seventh inning.
And look, it might be small potatoes in the grand scheme for a team that’s sinking in the standings, but I do love when a plan works out, both inserting Hurter in that moment and for the Tigers going with the pitching strategy.
One thing I didn’t
Will Vest will have to wait another day to get his first save of the season, and goodness that was a tough watch in the top of ninth inning. He came on with a 1-0 lead in the top of the ninth and gave up a pair of hits before Cleveland advanced the runners with a bunt and scored the tying run on a ground ball out to the right side of the infield.
It’s just a brutal way for the Tigers to see a needed win slip away in that moment, and the sort of situation Detroit’s bullpen will need to succeed in for this team to survive these offensive doldrums. The offense scraped together a run and needed a pickup in the form of a collective shutout to win in nine innings.
And difficult as that might be to ask of the pitching staff, they’d managed it for 24 outs against a Cleveland team that’s also not exactly an offensive titan. Three more just wasn’t in the cards.
And then Detroit melted down in extras and lost again. Ugh.
Going the distance … and then some
The Tigers are now 0-4 in extra-inning games
April 17: Lost at Red Sox, 1-0, in 10 innings
May 13: Lost at Mets, 3-2, in 10 innings
May 16: Lost to Blue Jays, 2-1, in 10 innings
May 20: Lost to Guardians, 3-2, in 10 innings
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
Kevin McGonigle (14) — a bright spot amidst this start to 2026.
Matt Vierling (5)
Tanner Bibee — tip of the cap, here
Player of the game
(Season total in parentheses)
Drew Anderson
Next Tigers game
Game 51: Guardians at Tigers, 1:10 Thursday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1
ICYMI: Yesterday’s Tigers recap
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 50: One thing I loved, one thing I didn’t
Reporting by Andrew Graham, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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