The Tigers didn’t need a long, drawn-out rally to bury the Phillies on Friday night. They packed the damage into a few brutal bursts, then rode that momentum to a 10-2 win in the opener of a three-game series at Comerica Park.
Detroit’s sixth straight victory - and ninth in its last 10 games - came with a familiar formula: timely contact, a sudden avalanche in the middle innings and a couple more punches after that. The big swing was a five-run sixth, but the Tigers weren’t done. Colt Keith opened the seventh with a solo homer, Spencer Torkelson added a two-run blast two batters later, and Detroit reached double figures for the sixth time this season.
The sixth inning was where the game cracked open. With Phillies starter Aaron Nola already out, left-hander Tim Mayza took over and couldn’t stop the bleeding.
Eduardo Valencia delivered the go-ahead RBI single, Zach McKinstry followed with a run-scoring safety squeeze after reaching on Mayza’s throwing error, James Outman ripped a two-run triple and a balk brought in another run with Jake Rogers at the plate. Eight Tigers came to bat in the inning, five scored, and only two hits were needed to do the damage.
That outburst backed Jack Flaherty, who worked six innings and allowed two runs for his second quality start of the season. He was sharp enough to keep Detroit in control, even after the Phillies made him work through a few tense spots.
The Tigers jumped in front in the third when Kevin McGonigle turned on a 3-1 fastball and sent it into the visiting bullpen in left-center, a two-run shot that scored Rogers from first. It was the rookie’s eighth homer of the year, and his second opposite-field blast.
Valencia’s night started rough - he struck out in each of his first two trips after making his first MLB start - but he came through when it mattered. With one out and two runners aboard in the sixth, he lined the hit that put Detroit ahead for good.
From there, the inning turned into a chain reaction. McKinstry’s squeeze brought home pinch hitter Matt Vierling, Outman followed with the triple, and the balk pushed the lead even further. Rogers, meanwhile, kept his strong stretch rolling with a walk and a run scored in the third and a single in the fifth before his on-base streak ended at eight consecutive plate appearances with a fly out in the sixth.
The seventh inning power only widened the gap. Keith’s homer was his eighth of the season, and Torkelson’s two-run shot was his 16th. Detroit had production all over the lineup, with Kerry Carpenter the lone starter who didn’t score, and finished one run shy of matching its season high.
Flaherty’s line had some turbulence early. Former Tiger Derek Hill opened the third with a solo homer, and the Phillies tied it in the fourth after Flaherty loaded the bases with one out. Harper and Bryson Stott walked, Alec Bohm was hit by a pitch, and after Flaherty struck out Gabriel Rincones Jr., Hill came through again with a two-out RBI single to make it 2-2.
He settled in after that, and Riley Greene helped him out twice with eye-catching defense in left. Greene made a diving catch on Trea Turner’s line drive in the fifth, then tracked down a deep Bohm fly in the sixth that looked headed for extra bases. Those plays helped Flaherty stay efficient enough to work through six, finishing with two hits allowed, six strikeouts and three walks on 86 pitches.
Detroit is now 44-50 and has two games left before the All-Star break. The Tigers and Phillies meet again Saturday night, with Casey Mize set to face Cristopher Sánchez.
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