The Tigers’ road trip opened with a win in Pittsburgh, and now Detroit gets a chance to press that advantage in game two at PNC Park with the final AL Wild Card race still in view. At 61-64, the Tigers are inching closer to .500 while trying to keep pace with the other clubs chasing that last postseason spot.
Detroit used Framber Valdez in Monday’s series opener, and he was tagged for four earned runs while issuing four walks and striking out five. Now the ball goes to Keider Montero, the Swiss Army Knife, as the Tigers look for another strong turn from him after his last outing against the Cleveland Guardians.
The offense will need to carry some of the load again, especially with Riley Greene still not in the middle of the lineup. Max Clark has started to see the ball better both at the plate and in the outfield, and he could matter against Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft.
Ashcraft brings a 3.82 ERA and a 12-5 record into the start for Pittsburgh. He was excellent in his last outing, throwing a complete game against the Miami Marlins in which he gave up one run on three hits and struck out 10. Still, the Tigers have been putting up 4.7 runs per game over their last 10, so this is not the same kind of challenge Ashcraft saw against Miami.
A.J. Hinch is going with a lineup that has some familiar names and a few hot bats in key spots as Detroit tries to extend its road series win streak to a franchise-record eight:
- 2B Gleyber Torres
- 3B Kevin McGonigle
- DH Colt Keith
- C Eduardo Valencia
- RF Zach McKinstry
- 1B Spencer Torkelson
- LF Brett Callahan
- CF Max Clark
- SS Javier Baez
Torkelson is back in the starting lineup after sitting out the opener. He has been one of Detroit’s better hitters lately, carrying a .309 average in August into the game. The power hasn’t shown up since the series finale against the Baltimore Orioles, but he’s still finding ways to contribute.
Torres has been swinging it well, too. The veteran second baseman is hitting .295 in August and enters Tuesday on a four-game hit streak. If he gets the top of the order moving, Detroit has a real chance to build something early behind Montero and keep the pressure on Pittsburgh.
In Other News...
Max Clark Just Forced A Big Tigers Decision About The Future
Max Clarks rise has already pushed the Tigers into the kind of conversation teams usually prefer to delay until much later. A former high draft pick who has quickly become one of the organizations most closely watched young players, Clark is now the sort of talent around whom long-term planning starts to shift from theory to reality. Tim Britton of The Athletic recently projected that kind of deal could land in the neighborhood of $120 million over eight years, which places Clark in the company of the sort of extension talks reserved for foundational pieces.
For Detroit, the appeal is obvious: locking in a player this young can bring cost certainty and keep a core talent in place before the price climbs even higher. The risk is just as clear, because any extension of that size asks the Tigers to make a major bet on early promise and continued growth. Deals for players such as Corbin Carroll and Konnor Griffin show why clubs chase that upside, but they also show how carefully teams have to weigh timing when a future cornerstone is still writing his first chapters. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers' Bullpen Decision Looks Worse With Every Giants Save
The Tigers moved on from Dylan Smith by designating him for assignment and sending him to San Francisco for cash, a transaction that barely registered at the time. Since then, Smith has turned into one of the more useful arms in the Giants bullpen, stacking up saves and turning in the kind of clean, high-leverage outings that tend to get noticed in a hurry.
For Detroit, the awkward part is not just that Smith is thriving elsewhere, but that his success keeps making the decision look harder to explain. A two-inning scoreless outing with five strikeouts only adds to the case that the Tigers may have let a capable reliever slip away before getting a real look at what he could become. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Rainer Is Forcing A Tigers Question Fans Cant Ignore
Bryce Rainers first full season in the Tigers system has started to look a lot more like the one Detroit envisioned when it made him a first-round pick in 2024. After an early stretch of adjustment in High-A West Michigan, the young infielder has settled in and started producing, with his bat showing the kind of progress that usually gets a front offices attention. The rise of Beau Ankeney, a 2025 14th-round pick who has also hit well since reaching High-A, has only added to the sense that the Tigers lower minors are suddenly packed with names worth tracking.
The bigger picture is changing, too, as recent trades have reshaped Detroits prospect rankings and pushed several new players into the top 10 while Brett Callahan has already moved on to the majors. In that context, Rainers performance is becoming harder to ignore for a fan base that is always looking ahead, and the next logical step in his climb is starting to feel like the question hanging over his season. The Tigers have plenty of moving parts in the system right now, but Rainers progression is one of the clearest reasons the organizations minor league picture feels so much more crowded. [Read more 🡒]