The Detroit Tigers opened up their current homestand on Tuesday night with a moist 11-4 victory over the visiting Athletics, making the franchise the first to reach the 50-win mark during the 2025 campaign. The victory featured dingers from Kerry Carpenter and Dillon Dingler, as well as some slick fielding from Wenceel Perez.
The triumph also guarantees that the Motor City Kitties will at least be in a tie for the best record in baseball after playing in the 81st game of the season — Wednesday’s matchup — with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers coming in. Their margin in the American League Central standings also remains the widest in the sport with a 9.5-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians.
The Tigers are now in a two-way tie for the second-best run differential with the Chicago Cubs at plus-89.
For the second game of the series, Detroit has Jack Flaherty toeing the rubber while the Northern California Hobos send Jacob Lopez to the hill. Here is a look at how they match up.
Detroit Tigers (50-30) vs. Athletics (32-49)
Time (ET): 6:40 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site: Athletics Nation
Media: FanDuel Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 81 Pitching Matchup
Player
IP
K%
BB%
FIP
fWAR
Player
IP
K%
BB%
FIP
fWAR
Flaherty
78.1
28.4
9.5
4.49
0.5
Lopez
36.0
29.7
9.7
4.35
0.3
Game 81: RHP Jack Flaherty (5-8, 4.83 ERA) vs. LHP Jacob Lopez (1-4, 4.25 ERA)
FLAHERTY
Baseball Savant
LOPEZ
Baseball Savant