Detroit just straight-up choked. They had this game, man, but in the bottom of the ninth, they absolutely gave it away, losing 4-3 and dropping the whole series to the Pirates. Wednesday’s game in Pittsburgh was supposed to be a classic pitcher’s duel, at least on paper, with Jackson Jobe facing off against Paul Skenes. Boy, did that not happen.
Starters Got Rocked and Bullpens Took Over
Jackson Jobe, our guy for the Tigers, didn’t stick around long, and it’s a real mixed bag with him this year. His first outing was fantastic, going five innings with just one hit. But then he didn’t even make it out of the fourth in his second start, coughing up six runs. We gotta remember he’s coming back from Tommy John surgery, so that control is gonna be a little wild for a while. Any great outing from him right now is a total bonus.
Across the diamond for Pittsburgh, Paul Skenes was on the mound, and man, this dude’s having a rough go by his own standards. An ERA of almost 4, a WHIP above 1.1, and he’s walking almost 7% of the hitters he faces? What a hoser! Wild for a premier pitcher! Since mid-May, he’s been struggling to go deep, usually topping out at five or six innings, and his nasty triple-digit velocity is just not there like it used to be. He walked the first two batters to start the game, and even though a ground ball to first didn’t turn into a double play, leaving runners at the corners, Dillon Dingler struck out and Brett Callahan popped up. What a missed chance early!
Scoring, Then Giving It Back
Pittsburgh got on the board first in the bottom of the first. Brandon Lowe walked, an infield single moved him to second, and then Oneil Cruz singled him in for a 1-0 lead. We finally tied it up in the third, though! Hao-Yu Lee led off with a smart single down the right-field line and aggressively took third on a Colt Keith single to left. Gleyber Torres struck out, but Kevin McGonigle lofted a fly ball to left deep enough to score Lee. Dingler then absolutely scorched a 106 mph line-drive to left, but Brian Reynolds made a sick catch. Unbelievable, the guy can’t catch a break these days!
The Tigers even retook the lead in the fifth! Max Clark smacked a double to lead off, and Lee followed with a walk. After Keith whiffed, Torres hit a little fly ball to center that just dropped in, scoring Clark and moving Lee to third. That was it for Skenes, per his recent custom. They brought in Old Friend™ Gregory Soto, and on the very first pitch, McGonigle split the right-centrefield gap for a double, scoring Lee. We were rolling! But then Torres got cut down at…
… Until it wasn’t. They gave that whole thing away in the bottom of the ninth. Losing 4-3 and dropping the series is just brutal. This team needs to figure out how to close out games. You can’t let these slip, especially when you battle back to take the lead. Next game is gonna be all about getting that W back and showing some grit.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bless You Boys.
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