Tigers Drop Series to Guardians: Offense Shutout in Loss

Tigers Drop Series to Guardians: Offense Shutout in Loss

That sucked. You are Locked on Tigers, your daily Detroit Tigers podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What is up everybody? Welcome back to another edition of Locked On Tigers. I’m of course your host, Scott Bentley. Today is Thursday, September 18th, 2025. Thank you so much for making Lockdown Tigers your first listen every single day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcasts, including YouTube, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network your team every single day. Today’s episode is brought to you by 5Hour Energy. Enough with boring flavorless caffeine. It’s time to give your caffeine a flavor upgrade with 5Hour Energy Shots. Go to www.5ourenergy.com or Amazon today. The Tigers need to go to Amazon today to get some runs. They They need to just however much runs cost. They need a lot of them. They also need pitching. They also need relief help. If only there was like a deadline, will he say, in the middle of the season where you could like, hey, this is the last day you can, you know, acquire outside help to make your team better. The Detroit Tigers lose 4 to nothing at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians. They fall to 85 and 67 on the season as Cleveland hits the 80 win mark on the year and improves to 80 and 71. First thought is that absolutely sucked. That was an incredibly frustrating baseball game. Uh that was an incredibly frustrating watch for me and I I I’m sure for tens hundreds of thousands of Tigers fans everywhere. Not really sure where I was going with that. Was trying to be like the you know uh diplomatic if you will. I thought Jack Flity was good enough. I don’t really blame Tommy Canley for the run he gave up or well I guess it was tagged to Brandt Herder, but I don’t really blame either of them too terribly much for that. This offense got shut out, struck out 13 times and went 0 for8 with runners in scoring position. That’s awesome, man. That’s just fantastic. That’s a series loss to a divisional opponent that is now all of a sudden kind of like breathing down your neck. The lead in the American League Central is now four and a half games. It was like 15 in July and you still have four games left against Cleveland, who apparently you can’t beat. And that doesn’t even include six games against the Braves and the Red Sox. I absolutely hated this baseball game. I I I try not to use the word hate these days. I I try to eliminate that from my vocabulary as best I can. It is impossible for me to do in when describing the nine innings of baseball I just watched. from pretty much start to finish. Like in the first inning, you had Parker Meadows with what, a double start off the Tigers offense and then just nothing happens after that. It it it also felt like I I thought the defense was just lax like it just lacks a days ago lazy defense. The worst situational hitting you will literally ever see. And and of course then naturally the pitching which has been a disaster for the entire second half gives you a performance that uh you know until the ninth inning when they’re throwing out and paddock like was good enough to keep you in and win most ball games. So naturally the offense had to completely fall asleep at the wheel. I I just this was brutal man. I I the whole second half has been frustrating and has kind of been a roller coaster and been up and down. I I I as I have mentioned numerous times, I think the deadline was a complete failure that you added really no legitimate help outside of Finnegan. So of course he had to get hurt and now a divisional lead has almost not completely. Okay, it’s important to remember it is still four and a half, which is more than than most other division leads at this time of the year, but you still deleted over 10 games of your divisional cushion. I I feel like yesterday I was not necessarily defending the Tigers. Uh I I at least tried to make the point clear that like you know you have to learn how to win these close games. You have to win these close games. This one I have very little defense of th this was a a just I I don’t even know how to describe it without like cussing or like saying something I can’t say on air like that. That was that was brutal to watch. What went wrong? Well, it’s hard to win when you score zero runs. I already mentioned 13 strikeouts 0 for8 with risp. They are allergic to getting a big hit right now. It it this game felt like 2022. And I do not say that lightly. Okay, that that’s like one of the most offensive things you can say to someone holding a baseball bat. I don’t even care if they’re a baseball player. Like I I would I I would like punch you in the face if you said that to like my future child. Like that that is the most offensive thing you can do is be like, “Wow, you offensively remind me of the 2022 Tigers.” But that’s what this was. If there was anyone on base and there were two outs in the inning, the inning’s basically over. There is a 0% chance anything is happening. And the most frustrating part of all of those points I’ve already complained about in these this segment one is that the at bats were long. They did that part. They extended at bats. They drew a couple of walks early. I I mean, heck, man. Like, Gavin Williams was at he only went five innings because he was in like the 70s at the end of three or something ridiculous in the at least in the fourth. He had like a 100 pitches. He had five innings. Like they worked the count. He had a 25 or 30 pitch first inning. But nothing came out of those. Like it it’s I I know I talk about how much I appreciate walks and how much I appreciate, you know, working the count and how important I think that is. This is a team where their bullpen is so good that when you knock the starter out, you just keep getting great arms. So you have to take advantage shocker of the opportunities that present themselves and they went 0 for8. You you you just you can’t afford to do that. You can’t. And I I know that’s a very captain obvious statement, but here we are. They did it over and over and over and over again. And I think that’s the most frustrating part. It’s not like It’s not like the 2022 Tigers offense in the sense that the 2022 Tigers offense just was the one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in my life. And they didn’t even get people on base. This was, okay, we’re going to be the 2025 Tigers until there’s a runner or more on and then we’re going to turn into the 2022 Tigers, which is almost more insulting. I know it’s within you. And it’s it’s the the good at bats evaporated. Like the only exception was really Riley Green had a handful of really really deep at bats. Like okay, you know, he’s thrown 20 pitches the first two batters. You got a man on. Okay. Well, then he’s just going to mow everybody down. And you’re all going to strike out. He struck out like the first five or six outs of the game. We’re all K’s. Like, could not string anything together. Okay, I have so much more to complain about. You’re like, what a treat. What a wonderful start to our Thursday here. I will do that unfortunately right after this. First, got to talk to you about our friends over at 5Hour Energy. Caffeine just got a flavor upgrade with 5Hour Energy Shots. They deliver tasty caffeine in 17 bold flavors. Each 2 oz shot pack of caffeine for a premium each 2 oz shot packs the caffeine of a premium 12 oz cup of coffee plus B vitamins and nutrients with zero sugar and zero crashes. I’m glad I can finally read. What I love most is how portable they are, right? little just shots, little bottles, big taste, tiny shot. You can take it anywhere and get a boost when you need it. There’s so many great flavors. I always reach for my I mean plethora honestly of favorite flavors that they have so kindly shown us. And it’s refreshing and gives me that quick little lift before a busy day. Enough with boring flavorless caffeine. It’s time to give your caffeine a flavor upgrade with 5Hour Energy shots. Get the favorites you love or be bold and try something new in the store online at www.5ourenergy.com or Amazon today. All right, everybody. Welcome back here. Segment two, locked on tigers. Appreciate you all for tuning in. As always, make this your first listen every single day. Shout out to the everydayers that do tune in every day. We of course will be back tomorrow whether you or I like it or not. We will be back tomorrow recapping the series finale here against Cleveland and previewing the weekend against Atlanta. Uh we got to pick up the pace here. I I have just spent so much time whining that we need to, you know, talk a little bit more about the game that was actually played and not just have me cry on air for 30 minutes. Um, the two through six hitters in this game is easily my biggest pet peeve of the offense. I guess I guess I don’t know. All of the offense is my pet peeve today. But two through six is is really telling. So the two through six hitters were Glaver Torres, Carrie Carpenter, Spencer Tolson, Riley Green, Dylan Dingler. They went a combined Oh, sorry, one rather one for 18 with two walks and seven strikeouts. That is just simply not going to cut it. One total hit between your two and six hitters. And I just read off the name, doesn’t matter what order you put them in, those are your best hitters. Those are the best hitters that the 2025 Detroit Tigers have to offer on a consistent basis. And they did absolutely nothing in this baseball game. The only exception to that is Carrie Carpenter, who’s responsible for the only hit and one of the two walks. You take him out of it, you’re talking about 0 for 17 with one walk and seven strikeouts because he had zero Ks. Then you even expand that and well honestly no let’s stick with two through six and just get those guys out of the way. Glabber I thought his at bats were brutal in this ball game. It’s almost to a point sometimes where I feel as though Glaver Torres is like trying to walk over anything else and he just becomes extremely late on fast balls when you get late into counts. And I think that’s why pitchers consistently throw him two strike fast balls or full count fast balls up. But just a whole bag of nothing in this game from him. I I thought his at bats were some of the worst we’ve seen from him in recent memory. Now hopefully I’ve insulted him so he’ll, you know, go four for four with four homers. Um Spencer Tolson, I mean, my goodness, dude. 0 for four with three strikeouts. Doesn’t even really tell the full story. These were just disgusting at bats. Just brutal, man. And look, in game one, he went four for five with a homer. He’s not going to do that every day, but these were just uncompetitive at bats. Just here’s five curve balls in a row. Okay. Okay. Well, he’s just swings at all of them. Fouled one off to extend the at bat and it doesn’t even matter. The timing was brutal for him all ball game. Riley Green um 0 for three with a walk, battled that first at bat, ended with a strike out, had the walk and nothing else. Wil Perez, if we’re zooming out and talking about the rest of the lineup, Winil Perez, I thought his at bats were incredibly weak. He he’s been a a great bright spot to this team in the second half and really all season. Really dating back to last year, he’s been a bright spot. I love Wil Perez in this ball game. His at bats were very uncompetitive. And he had I guess it’s probably not fair to say about all four, but at least two of them off the top of my head were very uncompetitive, including a weak grounder to shortstop late in the ball game when they really needed to hit. Andy Abanz. I I I think it’s telling that Andy Abanz started the ball game in game one with a lefty on the mound and was not in the top five hitters in the lineup. He still replaces Parker Meadows in this ball game. Now, I I’m not in a vacuum too upset with Parker Meadows getting pinch hit four. I know he was two for three and people are going to point at that and go, “What the heck?” I I get it, but like Parker just hasn’t been consistently good at the plate really this whole season when he’s been healthy, which has also been very little. I’m okay with not leaving him out there against the lefty. Andy Aubanz has objectively taken a large step back in his production and like this, you know, lefty killer that he has I mean was last year. I think pretty safe to say stumbled into the postseason last year. obviously had a couple of really big moments in the playoffs. This year has taken a step backwards. Got option to triple AAA at one point because he was struggling so much. He got a I think it was a full count fast ball that literally could not have been any more right down the middle and he popped it out to shortstop. Like it’s it’s and I I I know I’m I’m hyperfixating. I understand I’m being far more critical than normal, right? It’s baseball is a difficult game. It is very hard to hit a baseball with a baseball bat. These guys all have more talent in their left pinky toe than I have on a baseball field in my entire body. Right? I I respect the fact that they are the professionals. That doesn’t mean that in these moments after already again erasing over 10 games from your divisional lead a and just stumbling and limping into the end of the season that it’s not fair to point out the flaws that this team has been showcasing and the flaws that this front office I think kind of set them up with an inactive July. [Music] defense. Here’s something that I don’t care what a I don’t care if you’re playing little league ball or if you’re a multi-time MVP winner at the major league level. It’s very fair to get like pointed a finger at in this situation. that extra base that Cleveland took, that Aras took where he just basically walked to third and then Tommy Kanley threw a change up below the zone and it got blooped out to right field because it’s Cleveland and that’s how they score all their runs and then it like that is the most infuriating moment maybe of the entire season in my eyes. I I almost crashed out right then and there. One of my least favorite moments of the 2025 season was that play. That just absolutely cannot happen. And it did happen. It can’t happen in a meaningless game in May against, you know, the Rockies. Nonetheless, with like as you’re trying to clinch a division at the end of September, he could have crawalked blindfolded to third base. Nobody was there. Colt Keith playing third base way too far off the bag and I it was a defensive shift, right? You have to also accommodate for the man on second. You cannot just forget about that. Brent Herder also did nothing to help the situation. Like literally anybody in the infield needs to realize what’s happening there and make sure that that specifically does not happen. And it did. The only thing they couldn’t have afforded in that situation on the base paths was him ending up at third base and he did it uncontested. It was awful. Now, it didn’t matter because the Tigers got shut out. So, I guess who even cares? Good. You know, do whatever. Good job. Just let everybody run the bases and take an extra 90 ft whenever they want. Okay. any pitchers? Uh, Jose Ariti, really the only pitcher that I think falls into the category of what went wrong. Uh, two innings, not great. Um, the reason why he wasn’t great is everything was over the heart of the plate. Wasn’t rocket science. Like he he threw a billion curveballs and I think half a billion of them were literally in the middle middle quadrant. So that it’s going to be hard hard to overcome. What went right in this ball game? Uh, well, it’s not too much on the offensive side of the ball if you haven’t been able to tell. Jack Flity, five innings, three hits, one earned run, four walks, four strikeouts. His RA is now 46 on the season. This was not a very good start. I’m going to keep it completely real with you. U, but it was good enough. It was good enough. And you look at the final box where you see one ear and run in five innings. As I say all the time, if you’re somebody that really only cares about results, then so be it. like and again he’s on the side of things that went right. Like this is one of the bright spots of the game is he was able to tightroppe his way out of danger over and over and over and over again. And it’s the only reason this game was close because the offense did nothing. One run in five innings. I’m not going to ask for too much more from anybody not named TK Scubble at this point. If every pitcher we had just did that, I’d be thrilled even though they’re only going five innings. The slider was actually really good. I thought that it was an effective pitch. Again, it’s been kind of inconsistent this year. I’ve liked his curveball a lot more this season. The slider I thought was was kind of the star of this game. The fast ball was infuriating because it was the highest VO we’ve like ever seen from him. He was pumping 95 multiple times in this ball game with the heater. The problem is unfortunately he had zero clue where it was going the entire game. just spraying the fast ball all over the place. Like you’re at the bar, you’re a few ginger ales deep and you’re playing darts and just it is who knows, man. Seemingly every inning was multiple men on base and you know the fifth inning, his last inning was literally bases loaded and he got out of it. So we will take it at the end of the day. Um, I I’m I’m I guess I was going to say I’m not going to complain. It probably sounds like I have been complaining, so I won’t say that. But um ultimately got the job done and was able again to tightroppe his way out of danger a lot of times. And uh for whatever that’s worth, man, he he kept the game close. So tip of the cap. Let’s talk about the bullpen, then we’ll talk stuff. Okay, we’ll do that right after this. Got to talk to you today about our friends over at Monarch Money. 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And you can discover forgotten 401ks, maybe from past jobs even. Don’t let this financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code lockdown MLB at monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off of your first year. That’s 50% off of your first year. Monarchmoney.com with code lockdown MLB. All right, everybody. Welcome back third and final segment of this very chipper and dandy episode of Locked on Tigers. Appreciate y’all for tuning in even when we’re all in a bad mood. Uh bullpen. I thought the bullpen was really good outside of Herkiti. Brandt Herder goes twothirds of an inning, one earned run. That one where the, you know, Aras goes to third and then like Tommy Kanley technically gives up the run, but Herder uh put the runner on base. Um yeah, I mean one earn run, no walks, one strikeout. I I thought he was still kind of spraying the ball a little bit and I think he he just for whatever reason, man, like he should be unhitable against lefties. Um, and like he is when he’s not hitting them. Like he he just so consistently when a lefty is up just sprays the ball inside. It’s It’s so weird. And uh I hope that that’s something he can iron out in the offseason. Tommy Canley I actually thought looked fine, man. Again, like technically he gives up the hit that scores that run, but um outside of the last batter, the the four pitch walk to JRM that was just terribly uncompetitive. Uh I I I thought he looked pretty sharp. The change up I thought had good life on it. Um yeah, and again the pitch he gave up, that was a change up out of the zone. That that is that is not a very hitable pitch and he hitter didn’t get a barrel on it. Like it was a little blooper over the second baseman’s head and here we are. So um yeah, I mean then that play probably doesn’t even happen. Certainly the run doesn’t score if you know there’s not a runner on third base for no reason. So Bailey Horn I thought looked solid as well. one inning, no hit, no run, one walk, one strikeout. I actually think he’s looked pretty darn good in his last two outings. So hopefully that is uh a sign of things to come and maybe some, you know, some sort of reinforcement from any lefty in the Tigers bullpen here down the stretch um would be very helpful. So hopefully that is the case. But I I think he’s looked pretty good. That fast ball is lively. It’s just a matter of literally everything else. That’s it for the pitching. I I guess Paddock was good. He faced one batter and struck him out. So, you know, tip of the cap. Good job. Carrie Carpenter stayed in the game against two different lefties and I thought had pretty good at bats against both of them, which I think matters. Uh had two line drives. One was caught, one was a hit. Parker Meadows, I thought, had a great game. Two for three, gets pinch hit for late. We already talked about that. Um, but two for three and lead off double somehow doesn’t score. Fastest guy in the team’s on second base with no outs. That’s always good. So, yeah, stuff for whatever it’s worth, which might be nothing because I I do this loss is on the Detroit Tigers players and and coaches, whoever you want to put. It’s on the Tigers. Okay, don’t take this any other way. I did think the umpire had a brutal night behind home plate. uh just very inconsistent. You no call, no idea which direction each call was going to go on on any of the border pitches. Um we’ll see how that goes in the umpire report on Thursday. The one silver lining here is that Cleveland just completely emptied the clip in these two games. And they should have. That’s good managerial work. like that. That’s it’s not a silver lining because the Tigers didn’t win either game. Okay. So, like it worked. Good job. They should have. Um but their entire A team bullpen, their we have a lead bullpen was used two nights in a row. Pretty much all of them were used two nights in a row. And now that again, they guarantee themselves a series win, which is what they need right now. I I agree with the decision. If there is anything to take out of it for the Tigers, it’s okay. Well, you lost the series, but you have Scooble going in the finale and there’s no shot that maybe any of those guys are going to pitch on Thursday. So, you just got to hold your breath and hope that you can knock the starter out of the game early. You get the B bullpen instead of the A bullpen and uh Scooble can keep the runs off the board. Now, Benetti so graciously pointed out uh Cleveland is in control of their own destiny, which is just great. That’s just exactly what we all want to hear. Um obviously the Tigers are still have a 4 and a half game lead. However, the Tigers have four games left against Cleveland. And if Cleveland were to win all of those games, they would own the tiebreaker and then they play one more game than the Tigers the rest of the season. So there goes the half game as well. So technically if Cleveland wins out, they will win the American League Central. Now the odds of them winning out, you know, it’s 11 games and they’re already on a W6. So they’d be ending the season on like uh what is that? W17 W16 I guess there’s 10 games left now that’s pretty unlikely I feel like but the fact that it’s even gotten to this point where at any point we we are able to say the sentence Cleveland is in control of their own destiny when you had a 15game lead at one point this season is is pretty frustrating. some good news if you want. Um, the White Caps won the Midwest League. That’s awesome. Tip of the cap to them. And then the Flying Tigers won the Florida State League as well. So, that’s two trophies there in the Tigers organization in high and low single A. So, that’s kind of cool. Um, yeah, just put to put a bow on everything and then preview this uh finale. I the team just looked flat, man. Like I I think that’s why I’m so frustrated. Aside from just how the ugly the final box score looks and, you know, the fact that you got shut out, etc. Aside from like the numbers, like they just looked flat. A and that’s just infuriating because this is like the most exciting regular season baseball you can play. And AJ’s been preaching this like th this this notion, right, that, you know, that there’s no pressure, which honestly I appreciate. I don’t want my players to be like, you know, crippled with anxiety or or or feeling pressure from the outside. Don’t listen to idiots like me, okay? The utmost respect to all the players and and staff always. But this is something he’s been preaching has been like this. We’re all excited to be here and no one’s, you know, nervous that that we’re excited to play get the opportunity to play in these games. You could have fooled me. You could have fooled me in game two. Game one, I I already, you know, everybody was mad at me because I just said it was a competitive, close, fun ball game and and you know, half the fan base wanted my head. This one, there is no way around it. They they they looked flat. There was a uh like play where you know center and right field were were just staring at a ball that bounced off the wall. There’s the infield you know taking an extra 90 ft. just look like there is any life look like there is any fire for this team that is completely pissed away. It’s it’s massive division lead in a month and a half and that starts with winning game three and not getting swept. It’s TK against Tanner Bbeby. Byby has been notoriously very good against the Tigers as of late. I don’t have much to say. This is a mustwin. Have fun. Thanks Megan Lockdown. Tigers your first listen every single day. Shout out to the everydayers that do tune in every day. I appreciate you all greatly. We’re all in this together, man. The the the fan base, you know, be nice to other fans. It it’s it it’s so odd to me like we’re all pulling in the same direction. Everyone wants them to win. It’s so odd to me to see like Tigers fans, you know, belittling or or like, you know, insulting other like I get we’re frustrated and I get we got to, you know, let it out, but this is a safe space to let it out. Just you don’t have to point it at another person that wants the same thing we do. Okay, Detroit’s the best. Hopefully the Tigers can figure it out. Peace and love. Go to therapy. So on that inspiring note, see you tomorrow, baby. Go Tigers.

Today we discuss the Detroit Tigers 4-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. We talk Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres, Jack Flaherty, and more!

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