CHICAGO -- The Tigers didn’t get the desired result in the last leg of their road trip, splitting the four-game series at Rate Field following a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the White Sox on Thursday.
Casey Mize battled through 4 2/3 innings, needing 64 pitches to get through the first two frames. He gave up two walks and a hit in the first and second each, though he managed to work out of the two bases-loaded jams to keep Chicago off the board.
But the White Sox finally got to Mize in the fourth. He gave up three singles and a sacrifice fly in the inning, which plated two runs. Wenceel Pérez’s home run in the seventh sparked a game-tying rally, but Detroit didn’t bring more across the plate before Chicago first baseman Tim Elko walked it off in the 10th.
Mize felt he wasn’t moving well, and the ball wasn’t coming out consistently from the same slot. He didn’t feel he had good command, and he wasn’t able to fill up the strike zone.
Considering the bullpen usage in recent days, it helped that Mize went as long as he did after grinding through the first two innings. That wasn’t satisfactory, though.
“It could've been worse, but still didn't give them enough,” Mize said. “I know our bullpen's been working hard, so I wanted to give us some length. Didn't do that. I guess it definitely could have been worse, for sure. Just wish I could have given them more.”
It’s a disappointing finish to the road trip, but the Tigers still managed a positive record against two division foes. They’ve won eight of their last 11, and even after losses, they’ve mostly done a good job of turning the page thus far.
Now, they’ll take their MLB-best 41-23 record back to Comerica Park, where they’ll host a Cubs squad that enters the series as the National League's best team.
“We've got some things to clean up,” manager A.J. Hinch said, “so we'll reset, get home and play in front of an awesome crowd [for] a good series.”
That hasn’t necessarily been a marquee matchup since Hinch took over in Detroit starting in 2021. None of his first three teams made the postseason -- neither did the Cubs in those years, for that matter -- and last season, it took until mid-August for Detroit to surge toward a playoff spot.
But now in early June 2025, that series feels big, and a lot of that has to do with how the Tigers have performed this season.
Tarik Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young Award and Triple Crown winner who will start the series opener Friday, leads all pitchers with a 3.0 fWAR. Detroit entered Thursday the only team featuring three hitters with 13-plus home runs (Spencer Torkelson at 14, Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter both at 13), giving the club a shot at having numerous All-Stars.
“I think a lot of guys warrant that type of recognition, whether they ultimately end up in the All-Star Game or not,” Hinch said. “... We're trying to win as many games as we can, and you can't do that without really talented players and, really, players that are playing exceptionally well.”
Detroit’s position-player group entered Thursday ranked fifth in fWAR (11.1). The pitching staff wasn’t far behind, as the Tigers’ arms were tied for seventh at 7.7 fWAR.
This is clearly a strong ballclub, and Hinch is happy Detroit has played its way into this position. He’s glad the Tigers have become one of baseball’s biggest stories.
But he also made one thing clear: His team isn’t just a good story.
“These are all fun things, to watch an organization grow and mature and win,” Hinch said. “... There's so many things that start to grow, and then you go from people being surprised that you're winning to people wondering if you can keep winning to people wondering why you only won a certain way.
“That happens all the time now when you start to emerge. That's the same thing that happened at my previous stop, and maybe it's just the evolution of sport and following a team that has gone from some tough days to now a really good team.
“We're not a good story. We're a good team, and I think our players deserve a lot of credit for bringing it every day for a long period of time to put us in a position to win every series.”