Tigers win the series against the best of the NL
The two best teams in baseball locked up for a 3-game series at Comerica Park and the Detroit Tigers emerged victorious again. They took the first behind a fantastic pitching outing from Tarik Skubal. The Cubs struck back on Saturday, smacking five home runs to beat up on Tyler Holton and Keider Montero. The rubber match would be a battle between a veteran and a rookie, as both pitchers tried to keep the runs at a minimum. Let’s see how that shook out.
Jack Flaherty was on the mound for the Tigers, looking to continue his streak of solid games. He got leadoff man Ian Happ to line out, then struck out the next two batters with some great movement on his pitches. Pretty snappy top of the first, and Flaherty’s velocity was mid-90’s again, which is preferable.
Cubs rookie righty Cade Horton started against Detroit. Parker Meadows got things started by lacing a single to left field. Gleyber Torres worked yet another walk. Kerry Carpenter popped out, then Riley Greene struck out looking on a pitch that was well below the zone. Spencer Torkelson stepped up with fans hoping for something to happen. Tork delivered, stroking a 2-run double to the wall in deep right center. Colt Keith gave a ball a ride before it was caught, but the Tigers had put up a crooked number on the rookie Horton.
Flaherty was back at it, flashing a brutal knuckle curve that the Cubs batters couldn’t quite get a grasp on. After a fly-out, old friend Carson Kelly struck out on a wicked curve. Michael Busch was battling those curveballs but was frozen on a fastball right down the middle, striking out looking. Flaherty was dealing early on.
Neither team had anything going on in the 2nd.
In the 3rd, after Flaherty retired the Cubs in order, the top of the Tigers order was back up. After Meadows and Torres were retired, Carpenter worked a walk. Greene smoked a ball that went off a glove, allowing Carp to scamper to third and Riley to take 2nd. After a wild pitch didn’t make it far enough away to allow Carp to score, Tork popped up a baseball, ending the threat.
Flaherty struggled in the 4th. He walked the first two batters, but rebounded to strike out Seiya Suzuki looking. Pete Crow-Armstrong laced a single to right that threatened to score a run, but a fantastic throw from Carpenter to Dingler allowed for a bang-bang play at the plate. Runner Happ was ruled out, but the Cubs challenged both the out call and defensive positioning. After a long review, the umpires upheld the calls and the runner was out. Flaherty continued to struggle a bit with his command, walking Kelly to load the bases. Busch hit a pitch hard to center but a galloping Parker Meadows got over and made a leaping catch to end the inning. Exhale, remember to exhale…
In the bottom of the frame, Keith led off with a walk. Dingler struck out swinging on a fastball up in the zone. Two groundouts ended the frame with nothing doing.
Dansby Swanson hit a hanging curveball for a leadoff double in the 5th. Nico Hoerner struck out on a pitch that was definitely not in the zone though hardly the most egregious call of the series. He chirped and was ejected almost immediately. Thing is, the strike zones have been atrocious all series and the Cubs have been pretty vocal about it although they’ve arguably benefited as much as the Tigers at times. As their skipper argued, eventually a line was crossed and Craig Counsell was also ejected. A strikeout and groundout got Flaherty out of the jam.
After a flyout, Torres hit a ball the other way for a single. Carpenter swatted a ball all the way to the fence in right field for a double. Two on, one out for Greene. He battled and laced a low-velocity hit just over the infield, going the opposite way to score two runs. The next two batters struck out, but the lead had been doubled.
Flaherty was back out for the 6th with his pitch count climbing. He struck out Kyle Tucker to tie his season high of 9Ks. A flyout and a popout followed. Jack got a big hug from AJ Hinch in the dugout, ending his game. Six innings, 2 hits, 3 walks, and 9 strikeouts. All of that against one of the top offensive teams in baseball. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all.
Cubs went to their bullpen and brought in righty Ryan Brasier. He had no difficulty with the Tigers, retiring the side.
Top of the 7th and the Tigers turned to Brenan Hanifee. A scalded ball was shockingly caught as Javy Baez showed off his hops, snagging it at the top of a leap. Busch took 10 pitches and got a single to left on the final one. Swanson singled, putting two on for Vidal Bruján, in the game due to the Hoerner ejection. A broken bat fly ball was snagged by Carpenter, ending the threat.
Air Javy! pic.twitter.com/ag8H2bXatf
— Jed (@TigersJUK) June 8, 2025
Righty Chris Flexen was the next pitcher for the Cubs. He got the first two batters before Carp hit a chalk-line double down the left field line. Greene gave a ball a ride but it was to the deepest part of the park, meaning Crow-Armstrong had room to run it down.
Tommy Kahnle got the top of the 8th, looking to hold the lead. Happ struck out looking, Tucker popped out to 3rd, and Suzuki struck out swinging on a nasty pitch outside. Job accomplished. Kahnle went with his usual heavy dose of changeups, but he also registered a 96.8 mph fourseamer with 19 inches of induced vertical break. That’s really good, Tommy. Feel free to mix it in a bit more as needed.
Tork led it off with a single, but Keith flew out immediately and was visibly frustrated with himself. Dingler struck out on a high fastball. Zach McKinstry, not wanting others to have all the fun, hit a single through the infield that got Tork to third; Zach smartly was able to take second on the throw. Unfortunately, Javy’s offensive game wasn’t matching his defense and he popped out.
Will Vest was out to close out the game and the series. He’s settled into the closer role lately, successfully finishing a number of games this season. He struck out Crow-Armstrong on a fastball away. Kelly grounded out. Busch flew out to left, and that was that.
The Tigers shut out the Cubs, their 7th pitching shutout of the season, and take 2 of 3 games to take the series. In a matchup of two of the top teams in the league, the Tigers are the ones that emerge victorious. After an off-day tomorrow, they head to the road to take on Baltimore on Tuesday evening.