This is another night where I had an entire game story written and then had to rewrite it by the time we got to the later innings. Last night, it was Detroit that nearly pulled off the miraculous comeback. Tonight, it was Arizona that pulled off the miraculous comeback. I’m not unable to see the positives in tonight’s game. The offense scored five runs and got to Brandon Pfaadt early. Casey Mize had one of the best outings of his career. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen his splitter look that good. Sadly, none of that matters now. This is a results-oriented business, and the results show the Tigers came away with an L instead of a W.
Look, I came into this year feeling pretty good about this bullpen. I have seen Finnegan, Vest, and Jansen pitch really well throughout their careers. Kenley Jansen is one of the most decorated closers of all time. None of that means anything tonight. Drew Anderson looked great in the seventh. AJ wanted to get them through the bottom of the lineup in the eighth. You knew once James McCann, whom I didn’t even know was still in the league, doubled off of Anderson, that things were going to be trouble. Will Vest is a dynamite reliever when he’s attacking the zone. He was having none of that tonight, and by the time Jose Fernandez came up there with another opportunity in his major league debut, it felt like the storybook was already being written. No way around it, it’s a terrible early-season loss.
I’ve spoken at length about the expectations for this team, and because of that, people expect them to be hot out of the gate. They haven’t been. Do I still like this bullpen? Yes, I do, but that doesn’t mean anything right now. People want results, and I understand that. We’re seeing established guys who are struggling. When that happens, I’m inclined to believe that they’re going to be able to figure out a way to right the ship, but nobody really knows what the future has in store. Will Vest didn’t have a very good spring either, and bullpens are already very fragile. I didn’t expect this to happen before April, but the Tigers are once again turning to their dynamite Cy Young-winning pitcher to save them from a disastrous series.
The Tigers finish their West Coast trip tomorrow with Tarik Skubal on the mound, going up against Zac Gallen, who is looking to bounce back from a rough year in 2025. Arizona does not have an off day after this series, so they’re going to be looking to get a little bit of length out of Zac Gallen. Hopefully, the Tigers can get to him early and wear him down.