SEATTLE - The Tigers kept the pressure on Thursday with an 11-0 win over the Seattle Mariners in the rubber match at T-Mobile Park, a result that extended their run of strong baseball even as they still sit below .500.
Detroit has now won six straight road series, its fifth victory in six games on this West Coast trip, and it has gone 34-21 since June 1. By the time the final out was recorded, the Tigers were four games behind in the Central Division and one game out of the last wild-card position.
That’s the part making things interesting. The other part is the record: 56-59. For now, the climb still starts with getting to and moving past .500 before any chase feels fully real.
Still, this stretch has been hard to ignore. The Tigers last won six consecutive road series in 1988. They’ve put up eight or more runs in seven of their last eight games, and they’ll head to San Francisco on Friday with a plus-37 run differential on this trip.
Against Mariners starter Bryce Miller, Detroit wasted no time changing the tone. The Tigers had gone 25 innings without scoring off Miller before Thursday, but Dillon Dingler broke that drought immediately.
Kevin McGonigle opened the game with a walk, then Dingler launched his 26th homer of the season, sending the ball over a leaping Julio Rodriguez and into the J-Rod Squad seats in right-center.
Riley Greene and Colt Keith followed with back-to-back doubles, and Detroit had three runs on the board while also forcing Miller to throw 40 pitches.
Dingler added to the damage in the second with a two-out RBI single to right that scored McGonigle again. Dingler entered the game with the third-highest position-player WAR in baseball at 5.4 per FanGraphs, and he finished with 78 RBI, including 38 with two outs, the most in the majors.
McGonigle added the knockout blow in the seventh, belting his 12th homer for a two-run shot that sparked a four-run inning. Detroit wasn’t done there, either, tacking on three more in the ninth against position player Victor Robles.
The cushion gave Framber Valdez room to work, and the Tigers’ left-hander took full advantage. He rolled through the first five innings, giving up only two hits and not a single hard-hit ball.
Seattle finally put some pressure on him in the sixth when Colt Emerson and Randy Arozarena singled with one out. Valdez answered by striking out Dominic Calzone with a sinker and then getting Julio Rodriguez to bounce out to third after falling behind 3-0.
Valdez’s sinker was the key all afternoon, especially when he kept it on the inner third against Seattle’s right-handed hitters. That pitch opened everything else up, and he mixed in his curveball, slider and changeup from there.
He used the curveball to finish off both Calzone and Rodriguez and escape the sixth. Valdez then completed seven innings for the second straight start, allowing five hits and striking out five. He also induced eight ground-ball outs and three double-play grounders.
In Other News...
Tarik Skubal Talks Reveal The Tigers Price Milwaukee Wouldn't Meet
The Tarik Skubal talks at the trade deadline turned into a familiar kind of front-office stalemate, with Milwaukee circling one of the best arms available while Detroit listened. ESPNs Jeff Passan reported the Brewers had interest in landing the Tigers ace, but the sides never found a package that bridged the gap, a reminder that even a premium pitcher can be hard to pry loose when the asking price starts with the kind of young talent Milwaukee values so highly.
At the center of the impasse was the Brewers decision to keep their most prized prospects out of the discussion, a stance that speaks to how they view their long-term pipeline. For Detroit, that kind of resistance meant the market never quite got where it needed to go, and for a team weighing immediate help against future control, the Skubal pursuit ended with the Brewers holding onto the pieces they were least willing to move. [Read more 🡒]
Tarik Skubal Just Reopened A Huge Tigers Question
Tarik Skubals move to the Dodgers closed one chapter for Detroit, but it also kept an old question hanging in the air about just how long the Tigers would be part of his future. In a recent podcast interview, the left-hander spoke about how hard it was to leave the Tigers after the Aug. 1 trade and reflected on what the organization meant to him, even as he turned his attention to chasing a World Series in Los Angeles.
What makes the conversation linger for Tigers fans is the hint that this may not be the final word on his Detroit story. Skubal said there could be room for talks to pick back up after the postseason, which leaves open a path, however narrow, for the kind of reunion teams and players almost never talk about once a trade like this has gone through. For now, the Tigers are left with the emotional reminder of what they gave up, and the possibility that the biggest question around Skubal is still sitting there for later. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Smith Is Giving Tigers Fans A Reason To Revisit That Trade
Brady Smith is starting to look like the kind of arm that can make a trade haul feel a little more intriguing with time. The 21-year-old right-hander came to Detroit in the Tarik Skubal deal, and after missing time with Tommy John surgery, he is putting together his first healthy pro season with real signs of progress. His command has sharpened, his secondary pitches are playing better, and Baseball America already has him sitting as the Tigers No. 15 prospect.
Smiths next step is a move to high Single-A West Michigan, where the challenge gets a little more serious and the eyes on him will only get more interested. For Detroit, the appeal is obvious: a young pitcher with a live arm, improving control and a track record that suggests there may still be another level to reach. It is the sort of development path that can quietly alter how a trade is remembered, especially when the player in question is still just getting started. [Read more 🡒]