Can Detroit Tigers get to 96 wins in 2025? Here’s what it would take
On “Days of Roar,” Evan Petzold and Chris Brown break down what’s going right for the Detroit Tigers in the past month, plus if 96 wins is achievable.
The Detroit Tigers lost to the Chicago White Sox, 7-5, on Friday, Sept. 5.Parker Meadows homered and made a diving catch in his return from the IL for the Tigers.Tigers starter Jack Flaherty gave up four runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Parker Meadows hit a home run in his return from the injured list.
His home run was overshadowed by a poor performance from the Detroit Tigers‘ pitching staff, headlined by right-hander Jack Flaherty, left-handed reliever Bailey Horn and right-handed reliever Keider Montero.
The Tigers lost, 7-5, to the Chicago White Sox on Friday, Sept. 5, in the first of three games in the series at Comerica Park. The White Sox took the lead for the final time in the sixth inning, when Andrew Benintendi hit a solo home run in a left-on-left matchup against Horn.
The Tigers (81-61) have dropped eight of their past 11 games, with a 22-27 record since July 9. The series continues Saturday night (6:10 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) with left-hander Tarik Skubal on the mound for the Tigers.
After Benintendi’s homer, the White Sox (54-88) pulled away from the Tigers in the seventh inning for a 7-4 advantage, thanks to Colson Montgomery’s two-run home run off Montero’s middle-middle slider with two strikes and two outs.
The Tigers recently called up Montero from Triple-A Toledo — despite his 5.91 ERA across 42⅔ innings with the Mud Hens — as the fill-in pitcher while right-handed reliever Chris Paddack is on the bereavement list.
Montero allowed two runs on three hits with zero walks and one strikeout over 2â…” innings, throwing 38 pitches. He completed the sixth inning, then returned for the seventh, eighth and two outs in the ninth. Left-handed reliever Tyler Holton had to get the final out in the ninth inning, leaving runners on the corners.
In 2025, Montero owns a 4.70 ERA in 16 games with the Tigers.
The Tigers trimmed their deficit to 7-5 in the eighth inning with doubles from Jahami Jones and Spencer Torkelson off left-handed reliever Dan Altavilla, with Torkelson’s ball dropping into shallow right-center field off the palm of second baseman Case Meidroth for an RBI double.
Although the Tigers had a chance to mount a comeback with two runners on, the White Sox replaced Altavilla with right-handed reliever Jordan Leasure, who retired Zach McKinstry (strikeout) and Dillon Dingler (lineout) to escape further damage.
Jack Flaherty continues to struggle early
Flaherty allowed four runs on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts across 4â…“ innings, throwing 83 pitches. Not only is he responsible for a a 4.85 ERA in 28 starts this season, but he also has a 6.21 ERA in his past 15 starts.
The White Sox scored in six of the first seven innings, including four of the first five innings against Flaherty.
In the first inning, the White Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead on Montgomery’s RBI single on a two-out, two-strike fastball to drive in Curtis Mead, who had hit a two-out, two-strike curveball at the bottom of the strike zone for a double.
The White Sox struck again in the third, taking a 2-0 lead on Kyle Teel’s RBI single with one out. In the fourth inning, Will Robertson hit a middle-middle slider for an RBI single with two outs, securing a 3-2 lead.
Flaherty exited with one out in the fifth inning, leaving the bases loaded. The fourth and final run was charged to his final line when Horn — who replaced him — induced a Montgomery groundout, which allowed a run to score and tied the game at 4-4.
The Tigers escaped further damage in the fourth inning when Horn struck out Meidroth swinging with a 96.2 mph fastball, stranding runners on the corners.
Parker Meadows makes big return
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Before Friday’s game, Meadows was activated from the injured list after recovering from a right quad strain.
He hadn’t played for the Tigers since July 27.
In his first plate appearance, Meadows hit a two-run home run off right-hander Shane Smith in the third inning. He ripped a first-pitch fastball for a line-drive home run to right field.
It was his third homer in 39 games this season.
Later, Meadows made a diving catch of a Michael A. Taylor liner for the first out of the sixth inning.
For the White Sox, Smith allowed four runs on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts across five innings, throwing 91 pitches. He gave up two runs apiece in the third and fourth innings.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This story was updated to reflect Saturday’s matchup against the White Sox.
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