A Sense of Doubt blog post #3754 - The Detroit Tigers - 37-20 - Most Wins in the MLB as of Today
The Detroit Tigers are off today, so it seemed like a good day for this post.
As of today, they are 10th in the majors with a .733 OPS (On-Base + Slugging). They are fourth in total bases (786) while my other favorite team, The Chicago Cubs, are first in TB at 880. And they walk even less often at 190 so far that places them at 13th behind the 225 by the Yankees that leads the majors.
In Fielding Percentage, the Detroit Tigers rank seventh at .988, though best is .989. They are third in put-outs, and eighth in errors.
But they are winning more than ANY OTHER TEAM in the majors.
After a three game losing streak to Cleveland, The Tigers have won four in a row, starting with Skubal's complete game on Sunday and that three-game sweep of the Giants.
SOURCES
https://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team
The joy I feel at how the Tigers have played since last August to now. They have the best record in the majors from then to now. That time period is literally when my father entered hospice, died, and all the grieving up to now.
Here's a collection of articles on the recent success of my beloved DETROIT TIGERS.
Thanks for tuning in.
PS: I am hoping that this post does not jinx the Tigers...
FOR ALL YOUR DETROIT TIGERS NEWS:
https://www.freep.com/sports/tigers/
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2025/05/27/detroit-tigers-game-score-recap-sf-giants-jack-flaherty/83888650007/
Jack Flaherty finds best fastball in Detroit Tigers' 3-1 win over SF Giants
Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty has been working behind the scenes for months on his mechanics, searching to repeat his optimal delivery in games.
That search has led to some struggles.
Everything clicked into place Tuesday, May 27, against the San Francisco Giants at Comerica Park. The 29-year-old guided the Tigers to a 3-1 win with his best performance of the season, delivering six scoreless innings.
Flaherty — who threw 97 pitches — struck out eight batters while allowing just two hits and one walk. His fastball command was the biggest beneficiary of his repeatable delivery.
His fastball was the best it has been in 2025.
The Tigers (36-20) scored one run apiece in the first, second and third innings to support Flaherty's strong start.
Wenceel Pérez hit a solo home run in his return from the injured list, creating damage on the third pitch he saw with his first swing; Riley Greene — hitting .280 with an .850 OPS this season — finished 3-for-4 with one single, two doubles and two RBIs.
But Flaherty deserves credit for his poise on the mound, especially after working around leadoff singles — one from Mike Yastrzemski in a grueling 26-pitch first inning and another from Willy Adames in a smoother eight-pitch second inning.
Those were the only two hits against him.
Riley Greene rakes
Giants right-hander Logan Webb — an All-Star last season and a top-six finisher in National League Cy Young voting in the past two seasons — allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts across six innings, throwing 104 pitches.
The Tigers made him work in the early innings.
Webb used 49 pitches to complete two innings, then 71 pitches to complete three innings.
In the first, Greene doubled off Webb's down-and-in changeup to score Gleyber Torres for a 1-0 lead. In the second, Pérez cranked a solo home run off Webb's middle-in sinker for a 2-0 lead. In the third, Greene singled off Webb's middle-in cutter to score Colt Keith for a 3-0 lead.
The three hits from Greene: a double with a 114.5 mph exit velocity in the first inning, a single with a 94.8 mph exit velocity in the third inning and a double with a 104.7 mph exit velocity in the fifth inning.
Greene has 38 RBIs in 54 games.
He is on pace for a career-high 110 RBIs this season.
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2025/05/27/detroit-tigers-javier-baez-aj-hinch-react-to-umpire-phil-cuzzi/83866403007/
Detroit Tigers' Javier Báez, A.J. Hinch react to ejection from umpire Phil Cuzzi
Detroit Tigers center fielder Javier Báez — amid a career renaissance — was ejected Monday, May 26, by home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi for arguing balls and strikes in the fifth inning of a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants at Comerica Park.
Báez and Cuzzi exchanged words.
And then, all hell broke loose.
"I only said, 'I'm looking for that pitch. It's not a (expletive) strike.' That's the only thing I said," Báez said, standing in front of his locker after Monday's game. "And then he said, 'Don't point at it. Walk out.' And then I said, 'What do you mean, walk out? I'm asking you something,' and then he just threw me out."After the ejection, Báez tried to attack Cuzzi and had to be restrained by third base coach Joey Cora and teammate Gleyber Torres, preventing further escalation.
The ejection happened moments before manager A.J. Hinch intervened, as he was late to get out of the dugout.
That's what Hinch regrets.
"I could've gone out there at the very beginning of the argument," Hinch said. "That's where I'm mostly frustrated because it changed the rest of that inning. We should've had a runner on first. We didn't. Now we lose Javy."
But Hinch isn't upset with Báez.
Not at all.
"I want our guys to stand up for themselves," Hinch said. "I don't think what Javy did warranted the ejection, but I'm not the umpire, and they don't care what I think. So once it's over, obviously, I was trying to save him some money."
"Now I gotta pay a fine or something," Báez said.
The pitch in question, a 79.8 mph curveball from Giants right-hander Hayden Birdsong, was low and outside — off the plate. The missed call occurred in a full count. Arguing balls and strikes is a violation of MLB rules.
It should've been a ball for a leadoff walk.
Instead, it was a called strikeout.
"It's not even about the call," Báez said. "It's about how he treated me. I'm not an animal. We can talk. We can argue. And that's it. If he would've told me, 'OK, I missed it,' I would've (expletive) shut up (and went back to the dugout). I know he's not perfect, but don't treat me like that."
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2025/05/25/tarik-skubal-tigers-game-guardians-aj-hinch/83854730007/
Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal makes history in critical 'reset' win vs Guardians
It's usually never a must-win game in May, especially for a Detroit Tigers team with the American League's best record (34-20) and a first-place position in the AL Central.
But it was hard to ignore the Tigers' recent three-game losing streak, all at home against a Cleveland Guardians team that cut its divisional deficit from six games to three in the blink of an eye.
So after an extra-inning loss on Saturday, May 24, one that gave the Tigers just their second three-game losing streak of the season, there seemed to be an extra emphasis on not getting four-game swept by a divisional rival on Sunday, May 25.
At least Tarik Skubal pitched that way.
Skubal hit a few milestones with his first-career complete game performance during Sunday's 5-0 win over the Guardians (29-23), tying his career high with 13 strikeouts and becoming the first Tigers pitcher in history to record double-digit strikeouts in four straight home outings.
He threw the fastest pitch of the game on the last pitch of his outing, a 102.6 mph heater that struck out Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias and sent the Comerica Park crowd into an extended frenzy.
But most impressively, he threw a "Maddux," a complete-game shutout on fewer than 100 pitches.
Not that he knew that when he finished.
Tarik Skubal wasn't sure what a Maddux was
During his postgame interview, Skubal seemed to know what a Maddux was, but needed some clarification on what exactly it meant:
"Under 100 (pitches)? That's cool," he said. "A complete game shutout, Maddux, whatever you want to call it, that's pretty cool."
Even cooler? The 13 strikeouts Skubal recorded Sunday were the most ever in a Maddux, topping the 12 recorded by Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco in 2014, the Phillies’ Cliff Lee in 2011 and the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax in 1964.
But none of it seemed to impress Skubal too much when he learned about the feat:
"I'm not really trying to pitch for accolades, I'm trying to win."
Tigers in need of a reset
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch only sort of bought into the idea that Sunday's game was a must-win:
"We show up every day like we have to (win)," he said.
And facing many challenges on the day — the three-game losing streak, an 11:35 a.m. start following an evening game the night before, holding off a divisional rival — Hinch once again stressed the need for a reset.
"It's because of a series like this," he said. "I still say it after a series where we dominate, but it's series like this or games like last night that you need to reset and go play. The season was not going to be won or lost today, but it's always important to respond to where you're at in the year, and our guys did that."
The Tigers host the San Francisco Giants (31-22) for three games starting Monday, May 26 (1:10 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit).
Skubal staying 'stubborn' in the strike zone
Skubal was able to keep his pitch count so low in part because he was taking advantage of Cleveland's aggressive approach and recording quick outs. Hinch said that has represented an improvement in Skubal's game.
"I think the improvement is staying stubborn in the strike zone when it was clear they were going to swing early and try to ambush him," he said. "And I think his ability to, you know, mix his pitches as the game goes on, not back down from the strike zone even though they are swinging early — the improvement is in understanding the competition."
Catcher Dillon Dingler said he didn't have to adjust the gameplan too much with Skubal dealing:
"If he's missing barrels or getting ground balls straight into the ground, we keep on doing what we're doing," he said. "Attack guys just with his strengths. We didn't really change the gameplan too much, just were attacking them all day."
Does it matter that Detroit Tigers have a fun-loving clubhouse with a bunch of good dudes?
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/jeff-seidel/2025/05/25/detroit-tigers-stellar-chemistry-paying-off-on-and-off-the-field/83748698007/
“Get in the cart!” Will Vest screamed at Jackson Jobe. “Hurry up!”
It was April 12 and the Detroit Tigers were in the visiting clubhouse at Target Field in Minneapolis. Jobe had just reached an important milestone: The first win of his big-league career, after throwing six scoreless innings against the Minnesota Twins — and it was time to celebrate.
“Hurry up!” Vest screamed at Jobe after the Tigers’ 4-0 victory.
Jobe climbed into a laundry cart and was rushed to the shower.
“Everyone on the team is lined up and people are pouring beer, syrup, juices, baby powder,” Jobe recalled, breaking into a smile. “The beer is so cold and then you get a whiff of baby powder and you can't breathe for a second. You’re so cold, so you're, like, in shock and it's an experience.”
It was similar to one of the Tigers' on-field baby-powder-spraying, Gatorade-dumping celebrations after a walk-off win.
Only better. Because it was a bunch of veteran players welcoming a youngster behind the scenes.
Jobe finished his thought and kept smiling — one of those ear-to-ear smiles.
“We call it a beer shower, but it's something that everyone goes through after a first experience,” Jobe said. “It was definitely a big deal and something that I'll remember for the rest of my life for sure.”
Because in the middle of getting doused, he was being celebrated by the entire team.
“I like those,” Vest said, “because I like to take a moment with that guy and congratulate them and be like, ‘Hey, man, this is really cool what you just did, whether it be, you get your first win in the big leagues, or you hit your first homer. Those are cool thresholds to hit in the game.”
It’s a rite of passage and team bonding at its best, as these Tigers celebrate a huge moment. Because this team doesn’t just play hard, they celebrate each other. And all those moments are starting to add up.https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/45361938/no-relief-needed-tarik-skubal-wants-long-outings-regular
No relief needed: Tarik Skubal wants long outings to be regular
May 28, 2025DETROIT -- Tarik Skubal enjoyed his first taste of throwing a complete game as a professional, and the Tigers ace is hoping to be a rare starting pitcher who is regularly on the mound late in games.
In this era, teams usually depend on relievers to pitch at least a few innings, but the reigning American League Cy Young and league Triple Crown winner would love to buck the trend for manager A.J. Hinch and the AL-leading Tigers.
"The game's changed a little bit because these guys that come in are the best they've ever been, but my goal is to make it as difficult as I can on A.J. to take me out of a game," Skubal said Wednesday before Detroit wrapped up a series at home against San Francisco. "I want him thinking a lot about it. I don't want it to be an easy decision.
"That's kind of that's what starting pitching is: You take the ball and you eat innings. There's probably been a little bit of less value in that in today's game as it was five, 10 years ago."
Justin Verlander laments that fact.
"Most guys are getting pulled in the fifth or sixth inning," he said.
Verlander, a three-time AL Cy Young winner in his first season with the Giants, understands that clubs try to limit the number of innings starters pitch, in part to avoid injuries.
The 42-year-old right-hander, though, is grateful Jim Leyland was his manager early in his career with the Tigers and allowed him to have 120-pitch outings and 200-inning seasons.
"Even at that time, that was a little old school," Verlander said. "Had he not been my manager, I might not have had the opportunity to show what I can do. I think what separated me from a lot of guys was my ability to throw that many pitches and get stronger as game went on and do it every five days."
When Skubal makes his next start Saturday at Kansas City, the hard-throwing left-hander wants Hinch to see plenty of reasons to keep him in the game longer than usual.
"I want to be out there for the sixth, seventh and eighth inning," Skubal said. "There's going to be five-inning outings. Those are grinder games. I'm not too proud of those ones. I'm proud of ones I'm in the seventh, eighth and handing the ball off to the back end of our guys."
In Skubal's last start, he gave up two hits and matched a career high with 13 strikeouts in a 94-pitch performance that included only 22 balls and zero walks. It was just the fifth individual shutout this season in the majors.
If he or any other Detroit starter is as efficient, Hinch plans to keep them in for the final inning.
"If guys want to enter the ninth inning with 85 pitches, I promise you I will leave guys in," Hinch said.
Hinch said it's not an indictment on starters when they don't last deep in games, adding it's not a "healthy badge of honor" to just leave pitchers on the mound because they are having a good day.
Simply put, he said the stuff a fresh reliever has to throw at teams is going to be better than one of the last pitches from any starter.
"As starters fatigue, is their 120th pitch better than Will Vest's first pitch? Or Tommy Kahnle's first pitch? Or Brant Hurter's first pitch?" Hinch asked. "The answer is no."
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- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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