The Detroit Tigers rallied in the ninth inning, but came up just short in the series finale against the New York Yankees.
The Tigers were on the verge of getting shut out for the first time in 2025, but put together a two-out rally in the ninth inning. Spencer Torkelson scored on a wild pitch, followed by a two-RBI single from Zach McKinstry to cut the deficit to one run. But Justyn-Henry Malloy popped out to finish off a 4-3 loss.
The Tigers struggled to create any tangible threats at the plate before the ninth. Yankees left-handed starter Max Fried never allowed more than one baserunner at a time across seven scoreless innings.
Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty also had a scoreless start through 5⅓ innings with nine strikeouts, but the Yankees struck in the seventh inning. Tyler Holton gave up a two-out single to Oswaldo Cabrera in the ninth spot, and leadoff hitter Ben Rice followed it up by sending Holton’s inside sinker 419 feet to clear the deep wall in right center field for a two-run home run.
The Yankees added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning off John Brebbia. Brebbia hit the first two batters with sliders, followed by a Colt Keith error at second base, to load the bases for Aaron Judge with no outs. Judge laced a single up the middle to score two.
After Fried came out after the seventh, Luke Weaver threw a scoreless eighth inning before the Tigers tagged Devin Williams in the ninth.
It is the Tigers’ first loss at Comerica Park this season after winning the first five games of the opening homestand. The Tigers took the series 2-1, but could not produce a second straight sweep.
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Tigers quieted by Fried
The Tigers reached base once the first time through the lineup on a Riley Greene single, but otherwise couldn’t get to Fried early.
Fried, who joined the Yankees as a free agent this offseason, struck out the side in the second inning against Dillon Dingler, Keith and Báez to reach four strikeouts through the first seven batters. The Tigers reached on singles in the third and fourth innings, but could not create any more traffic outside of that to produce a tangible threat.
Fried struck out Dingler and Keith again in the fourth inning, Báez and Malloy in the fifth inning and Báez and Ryan Kriedler in the seventh inning. He had 11 total strikeouts, including four innings with at least two.
McKinstry got the closest to home with a two-out triple down the left field line in the fifth inning but was left stranded. Dingler led off the seventh with a double, but the bottom of the order could not drive him in.
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Flaherty avoids Yankees’ bats
Flaherty came out attacking.
He struck out the side in the top of the first inning. He caught Rice looking at a fastball for strike three, then got Judge to chase a low knuckle curveball to end a 10-pitch at-bat and Cody Bellinger to miss on a low slider.
The Yankees had two baserunners in the second, but he struck out Anthony Volpe and Jasson Domínguez with knuckle-curves to escape the threat. Flaherty reached seven strikeouts through the first three innings by catching Rice and Bellinger again the second time through the top of the lineup.
Flaherty cruised into the sixth inning before he was pulled during the third time through the Yankees’ lineup. He walked Judge to lead off the inning, struck out Bellinger for a third time, and then surrendered a double to Paul Goldschmidt to put two runners in scoring position, ending his outing.
Holton maintained the scoreless tie by fielding a ground ball back to the mound and catching Judge trying to reach home from third, and struck out Volpe.
Flaherty finished his day throwing 5⅓ scoreless innings, giving up three hits and three walks with nine strikeouts. Five strikeouts came on the knuckle curve, three came on the slider and one with the fastball, which averaged 92.4 mph. Flaherty produced 13 whiffs, with 12 coming on the knuckle-curve and slider.
Jared Ramsey covers sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com; Follow Jared on X or Bluesky.
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