The Tigers’ season ended the way so many finales do: with a little bit of life late, but not enough to erase what came before. Detroit dropped its last game of the year 4-2 to the Pirates on a sunny day at Comerica Park, finishing off a weekend that had already been packed with emotion and energy.
Pittsburgh grabbed control almost immediately. On the second pitch of the game, Konnor Griffin sent his sixth homer of the season out to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead, and the visitors kept adding pressure from there.
In the second, Spencer Horwitz opened with a walk, moved up on a single, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on another hit. Another walk loaded the bases with nobody out, forcing River Ryan into trouble before he could settle in.
After Ryan struck out Billy Cook, he was pulled in favor of Beau Brieske, and Griffin’s grounder into a double play ended the inning. Ryan’s line: 1 2/3 innings, three hits, two runs, two walks and three strikeouts.
The Pirates kept stretching the margin in the fourth. Billy Cook doubled in Nick Gonzales, then Griffin singled in Cook to make it 4-0.
Detroit’s offense was mostly quiet early against Jared Jones, who looked sharp right away. Through two innings, the Tigers had no baserunners, and Jones had already struck out four while throwing 20 of his first 30 pitches for strikes.
Detroit finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth when Kevin McGonigle lined a single to center for the club’s first hit of the day. At that point, the only baserunner Jones had allowed was Spencer Torkelson, who had been hit by a pitch.
Brieske handed the ball to Jack Flaherty to open the fifth, and Flaherty worked a clean inning in his first relief appearance since 2023. He allowed a harmless single in the sixth, and Ty Madden followed with a scoreless seventh.
The Tigers got on the board in the seventh when McGonigle launched a solo homer to cut the deficit to 4-1. After Riley Greene grounded out, Eduardo Valencia turned around a pitch and crushed it 109.8 mph for a 441-foot home run, pulling Detroit within two.
Jace Jung, pinch-hitting for Torkelson, then struck out but reached first on a wild pitch, bringing the tying run to the plate. Zach McKinstry couldn’t keep it going, taking a strike-three curveball to end the inning.
There was a nice moment in the eighth when McGonigle was removed from the field by AJ Hinch to a strong ovation from the Comerica Park crowd. He finished the year leading the American League in plate appearances with 704 and posting a 6.9 bWAR.
Madden closed things out with three hitless innings, finishing the game by inducing a high popup to Ben Malgeri in right field. Mason Montgomery, one of Pittsburgh’s two triple-digit left-handed closers along with Gregory Soto, worked the ninth, and Valencia struck out looking for the final out of Detroit’s season.
The final was Pirates 4, Tigers 2.
Elsewhere, Max Scherzer spent the day chasing Justin Verlander in career strikeouts. He started 10 behind and finished with seven through seven innings, even after 109 pitches.
Scherzer returned for the eighth, but after a leadoff walk he exited to a loud ovation in Toronto. After coming off the mound, he climbed a short fence near the dugout to hug his family in the stands.
Detroit closed the year at 76-86, its fewest wins since the 2022 team went 66-96. Since 1901, the Tigers’ all-time record stands at 9839-9728, a .503 winning percentage.
Laz Diaz worked his final game as an umpire, finishing at third base after being behind the plate on Saturday; his first Major League game was at Tiger Stadium. And based on run differential, the Tigers should have gone 89-73.
In Other News...
Justin Verlanders Farewell Came With One More Umpire Controversy
Justin Verlanders final start turned into one of those fitting baseball scenes where the game itself almost shared the spotlight with the people around it. It was also the last assignment behind the plate for home plate umpire Laz Daz, who accepted a buyout from MLB earlier this year, and the occasion carried an extra layer of ceremony with Pirates reliever Kirby Yates making his first career start in the same game before announcing his retirement afterward.
Daz, whose work had already drawn attention over the years, managed to keep the focus on the action by winning all four challenges during the game. For a night built around farewells, the unusual convergence of a retiring pitcher, a retiring umpire and a one-start career milestone gave the matchup an odd little place in baseball memory, even if the lasting question from the game may end up being the one fans remember most. [Read more 🡒]
Tigers Have Another Young Bat Forcing Its Way Into 2027 Plans
Kevin McGonigles first taste of the American League has already given the Tigers another reason to think beyond the present. The rookie has been a steady force at the plate since his debut, pairing an OPS above .800 with 18 home runs, 72 RBIs and 95 walks, production that has only strengthened the sense that Detroit is building real depth from within.
Eduardo Valencia has made it even harder to ignore the next wave. Still a rookie by eligibility rules, the backup catcher and designated hitter has been productive in 44 games and caught fire over his last 15, hitting .385/.448/.635 with a walk-off homer mixed in. For a Tigers lineup trying to keep its long-term core in order, Valencias emergence gives the front office another young bat to factor into 2027 planning, even if the final shape of that picture is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Jack Flaherty's Tigers Return Brings One More Big Question
Jack Flaherty is back with the Tigers for the final game of the season, and the move gives Detroit one more look at a familiar arm before the offseason begins. The right-hander had been on the 15-day injured list with right flexor inflammation, then worked his way through two rehab appearances at Triple-A Toledo before being activated to replace lefty Brant Hurter, who was optioned to the Florida Complex League affiliate.
The timing makes the return feel more like a sendoff than a fresh start, with Flaherty set to head into free agency after finishing out the two-year deal he signed with Detroit. For the Tigers, it is a chance to close the year with one more evaluation point on a pitcher who spent part of the season sidelined and now has one final turn in the uniform before his next contract becomes the bigger question. [Read more 🡒]