The Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-0 on Wednesday night at Comerica Park, and in doing so they kept from sliding into sole possession of the American League cellar. Detroit built the win early and then leaned on its bullpen after Casey Mize left after four innings with a groin injury.
AJ Hinch’s club can do something it has not done since the very beginning of May if it wins again Thursday: take a series. The Tigers last won one when they took two of three from the Texas Rangers at home at the beginning of May, and Wednesday’s victory set up a chance to end that drought in the finale.
Jack Flaherty is scheduled to start for Detroit on Thursday afternoon, and the Tigers will need a sharper outing than the one he has carried through much of this month. Over five games and 21 2/3 innings in May, Flaherty has a 6.65 ERA and a 4.09 FIP. His last appearance against the Angels came on May 3 last year, when he allowed five runs, four earned, on eight hits and a walk while striking out eight over 5 2/3 innings.
Los Angeles will counter with Grayson Rodriguez, who is scheduled to make his third start of the season. Rodriguez enters 1-1 with a 10.61 ERA, but he has a past track record against Detroit that looks far different. In two appearances against the Tigers in April 2023 with the Baltimore Orioles, he allowed zero runs over 10 innings, giving up seven hits and four walks while striking out 15.
That contrast gives Thursday’s finale a simple shape. Detroit has already done the hardest part by protecting Wednesday’s lead despite losing Mize early, and now it gets one more shot to turn a shutout win into its first series victory in nearly a month. The Tigers and Angels are scheduled to play the final game of the three-game set Thursday at 1:10 p.m. ET at Comerica Park in Detroit.
