The Tigers just missed out on something rare Wednesday afternoon, and the way it slipped away stung all the more because it looked so close. Detroit carried a lead into the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, only to watch it vanish again, this time after Kenley Jansen gave up two solo home runs. That loss left the Tigers at 61-66 and nudged their playoff odds down to 13.8%, according to FanGraphs.
Now the focus shifts to Kansas City, where Detroit opens a series against the Royals, the last-place team in the AL Central. The clubs split a four-game set the last time they met at Comerica Park, with the Tigers taking the first two before dropping the last two. For a team still trying to keep its postseason hopes from fading, this trip has a little more weight than a typical division series.
A.J. Hinch’s rotation plans are set, and Detroit will lean on a trio that has to keep the club afloat.
Troy Melton gets the ball first after what was, by his standards, a rough outing against the Chicago White Sox. Even in that start, he stayed in the fight, working 4.1 innings while allowing nine hits, three runs and one walk.
His 1.71 ERA still gives Detroit plenty to like, and the fact that he has faced the Royals only once this season should help as he looks to reset.
Drew Anderson follows, and August has given him a chance to keep building momentum in a starting role. Over 14 innings this month, he has posted a 2.57 ERA and allowed four runs.
The next step is simple: keep producing and give this rotation another steady outing. The caution flag is the long ball.
Anderson has allowed two home runs in back-to-back games, and Kansas City has enough power to make that an issue if he leaves mistakes in the wrong spots.
Framber Valdez is next, and Detroit needs more from the veteran left-hander as the series moves along. He has opened August with a 3.55 ERA in four starts, but his last two outings have come with the same line: 5.2 innings and four earned runs allowed in each.
Those starts also included nine walks combined. The Tigers brought him in to be a stabilizer, and while the first season hasn’t matched expectations, there’s still a pitcher in there Detroit can trust.
If this series goes to the finale, the Tigers will need that version of Valdez to show up.
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 🡒]