The winning wasn’t going to last forever.
The Detroit Tigers lost, 4-0, to the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, June 6, in the second of three games at Comerica Park, snapping a streak of four wins in a row.
Right-hander Keider Montero completed five innings, but he surrendered all four runs to the Mariners, including two runs on Randy Arozarena’s double into the right-field corner with two outs in the third inning.
Meanwhile, the Tigers were limited to just two hits.
The Tigers fell to 26-39, while the American League West-leading Mariners improved to 34-31.
On the mound
The Mariners scored one run in the second inning, two runs in the third and one run in the fourth.
Blame mistakes from Montero for the first three runs.
The Mariners took a 1-0 lead on a double from Dominic Canzone with one out in the second, but a run wouldn’t have scored if not for Montero walking Arozarena to open the inning.
The Mariners then extended their lead to 3-0 on a two-run double from Arozarena in the third, but those runs only scored because Montero fell apart with two outs. He recorded the first two outs, then gave up three hits in a row: Julio Rodríguez singled, Josh Naylor singled and Arozarena doubled.
The Mariners made it a 4-0 advantage in the fourth, as Canzone stepped to the plate to open the inning and hit an up-and-away 92.5 mph fastball from Montero for a solo home run.
Solo home runs happen, but Montero could’ve avoided the first three runs if not for the leadoff walk in the second and his inability to finish the inning in the third. In the end, whether Montero surrendered one run or four runs didn’t matter because the Tigers didn’t give him any run support.
Montero has a 3.95 ERA in 12 starts.
At the plate
The Tigers failed to score.
After scoring 32 runs (with 12 home runs) in their first four games in June, the Tigers were shut out by the Mariners – led by right-hander Bryce Miller – in Saturday’s game. A group of four pitchers limited the Tigers to two hits.
The first hit belonged to Colt Keith.
Keith crushed Miller’s elevated slider into the right-center gap and hustled around the bases for a leadoff triple in the third, only for the Tigers to strand him. The next three batters: Matt Vierling popped out, Wenceel Pérez struck out and Gleyber Torres struck out.
The Tigers also had a scoring opportunity in the fourth inning, thanks to Kevin McGonigle’s walk (on five pitches) and Kerry Carpenter’s walk (winning a 12-pitch battle), but Riley Greene grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Not only did Miller fire six scoreless innings in a 94-pitch masterpiece, but the 27-year-old also held the Tigers to one hit and two walks with nine strikeouts.
Miller struck out all three batters in the second, sending down Carpenter (with a middle-middle 97.2 mph fastball), Greene (on three splitters in a row) and Torkelson (with an elevated 98.4 mph fastball).
He owns a 1.33 ERA in five games (four starts).
The other three pitchers: Left-hander José A. Ferrer tossed a scoreless seventh, right-hander Matt Brash delivered a scoreless eighth and left-hander Gabe Speier provided a scoreless ninth.
McGonigle connected for a leadoff double off Speier in the ninth inning for the Tigers’ second hit, but he was stranded after Dillon Dingler’s flyout and Jahmai Jones’ walk because Greene grounded into another inning-ending double play.
Next up: The finale
The Tigers and Mariners meet again Sunday (1:40 p.m., Detroit SportsNet) in the finale of the three-game series. The pitching matchup: right-hander Jack Flaherty for the Tigers and right-hander Luis Castillo for the Mariners.
Flaherty is coming off one of his best starts.
The 30-year-old – making $20 million in the final year of his contract – earned his first win since Sept. 10, 2025, completing five scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 8-0 win against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. If the Tigers sell at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, Flaherty will be on the move, especially if the Tigers are willing to absorb some of his prorated salary.
The Tigers need Flaherty to continue his success.
And Flaherty needs to do so if he wants to avoid getting sent to the bullpen.
He has a 5.31 ERA in 13 starts.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers held to 2 hits by Mariners as shutout ends 4-game win streak
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
