Cleveland – The same team that scored six runs at home and scored 11 runs on Thursday at Comerica Park, managed just two shots and none on Friday at Progressive Field.
The Cleveland Rangers won their fifth straight game against the Tigers this season, winning the first of a three-game weekend set, 3-2.
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And in the process, it may have lost the services of pitcher Jack Flaherty.
Just as Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize returned to the Tigers’ starting rotation, Flaherty left Friday night’s game after the third inning with what the Tigers called left leg discomfort.
He was on 63 pitches and endured a 30-pitch, two-run second inning. Catcher Patrick Bailey, who hit .154 that season, had two singles, two RBIs and a triple off No. 9 hitter Bryan Rocchio.
Flaherty, who changed his cleats between innings, put the Guardians down in a 14-run sequence in the third inning. Finally, he twisted his body to land a high chopper hit by Kyle Manzardo. He stumbled but recovered and threw Manzardo at first.
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He hurried down the tunnel and into the clubhouse to get checked out. The Tigers later said the discomfort was unrelated to the last play of the third inning.
His sudden departure forced the Tigers to field four relievers to end the game. Sub-optimal in the first game of a series and the first game of a six-game road trip without a day off.
“We got it,” manager AJ Hinch said before the game. “We’re not rational. We also understand whatever happens tonight, there will be another game tomorrow, that can help us win the series or get us back in the series.”
Right-hander Jacob Waguespack, recently called up from Triple-A Toledo before the game, and lefty Drew Sommers pitched a scoreless inning. But the Rangers went to third against Drew Anderson in the sixth on Steven Kwan’s RBI single.
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Ty Madden pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings, pitching the team in eighth place.
The bowls held the fort. The batsmen could not break through.
The Rangers, like they did last month at Comerica Park, beat the Tigers in every way. Defensively, they were nearly flawless.
Rocchio made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch, sprinting to left field, to steal a single off Colt Keith. Right-fielder Chase DeLauter made a diving catch on a soft line drive, cutting off Dillon Dingler. Second baseman Travis Bazzana made a diving play to his left to pick off Riley Greene.
And, after one defensive error they made, a throwing error by first baseman Rhys Hoskins, first baseman Tanner Bibee singled Zach McKinstry to first. It was the third time McKinstry was taken from the field this year.
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The Tigers, meanwhile, produced four hard-hit balls against Bibee in his seven-plus innings. They both left the yard.
James Outman, claimed off waivers by the Tigers from the Twins on Thursday, hit a 418-foot home run to right field in his Tiger debut. He’s hitting .156 and has no homers since last September.
Outman, whom the Tigers found primarily defensive in the outfield, made a diving catch in the second inning that, at the time, looked like it would save a run.
After Bibee retired 15 straight (including McKinstry’s single), his night ended on a 416-foot home run to center field by 11-year-old Spencer Torkelsonth.
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Bibee got two quick strikes but Torkelson worked the count to the full before blasting a short in the middle.
The Tigers came a few feet behind to tie the game at eight, too. Rookie Kevin McGonigle lined a 92 mph slider from reliever Hunter Gaddis to the wall in right-center, followed by and caught by DeLauter.
Closer Cade Smith pitched a clean ninth for the save.
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
June 12, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Tigers center fielder James Outman (43) celebrates his home run as he rounds the bases during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Photos by Scott Galvin-Imagn
This article originally appeared in the Detroit News: Detroit Tigers lose opener of three-game series against Cleveland.
