Detroit Tigers squander another strong Jack Flaherty start in 2-1 loss to Guardians
CLEVELAND — The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians went down to the wire in Wednesday's game.
It was a classic pitching duel, headlined by right-hander Jack Flaherty for the Tigers and right-hander Tanner Bibee for the Guardians.
Although Flaherty outlasted Bibee, the Tigers couldn't outlast the Guardians in a 2-1 loss Wednesday in the third of four games at Progressive Field. The Guardians grabbed the lead — and never let go — in the eighth inning against right-handed reliever Beau Brieske.
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The Tigers (50-52) have dropped back-to-back games for the first time since June 28-29. They trail the first-place Guardians by 12 games in the American League Central.
It could've been the final start of Flaherty's tenure with the Tigers.
The 28-year-old, pitching on an expiring contract, is lined up to start Monday against the Guardians at Comerica Park, but he is also expected to be traded before Tuesday's trade deadline.
Flaherty, who signed a one-year, $14 million contract in the offseason, has a 2.95 ERA with 19 walks and 133 strikeouts across 106⅔ innings in 18 starts.
In the eighth inning, the Guardians took a 2-1 lead on Josh Naylor's RBI single off Brieske's fastball with runners on the corners. Before the single, Brieske fell behind 3-0 in the count to Naylor, forcing him to throw a strike to avoid loading the bases.
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Matt Vierling hit his first 12 home runs to the pull side.
For his 13th homer, Vierling hit a middle-away fastball from Bibee over the wall in right for a solo home run with two outs in the first inning. It was his first opposite-field homer of the season.
Vierling is hitting .254 with 13 homers in 91 games.
Aside from Vierling, the Tigers were silenced by Bibee throughout Wednesday's game.
Bibee, who finished second in AL Cy Young Award voting last season, allowed one run on two hits and one walk with four strikeouts in five innings, throwing 67 pitches. He exited before throwing a pitch in the sixth inning with lower extremity cramping.
Facing Jack Flaherty
The Guardians scored their lone run off Flaherty in the fifth inning, though it wasn't charged as an earned run. With two outs, Bo Naylor hit a single to right field.
After that, Flaherty threw a slider below the strike zone that catcher Carson Kelly tried to pick and frame. He started framing the pitch in the strike zone before the ball went into his glove. The ball skipped away for a passed ball by Kelly, allowing Naylor to advance into scoring position.
Two pitches later, Steven Kwan slapped a single to right-center field score Naylor from second base. The RBI single from Kwan tied the game, 1-1, in the fifth.
Flaherty generated 13 whiffs on 45 swings — a 28.9% whiff rate — with seven fastballs, five sliders and one curveball. His fastball averaged 92.8 mph, down from his yearly average of 93.6 mph.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers squander Jack Flaherty gem in 2-1 loss to Cleveland
