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Kerry Carpenter had a great night
Let’s face it: After having a meltdown in September, the Detroit Tigers went further into October than most fans expected. Let’s not forget they beat their nemesis, the Cleveland Guardians, in the wild-card contest to advance.
In the end, on Friday night at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, it was a pitchers’ duel. But when Detroit reliever Tommy Kahnle took the mound in the bottom of the 15th inning, and loaded the bases,it was quite evident the end was near for the Tigers. He gave up a hit, and Detroit lost 3–2.
The fact that the Tigers went this far probably takes some pressure off General Manager Scott Harris, who was criticized by fans and some sports commentators for not going after better players before the trade deadline in July. At the time, Harris figured the Tigers had enough talent to make it to the playoffs, but not the World Series, and he didn’t want to give up any prospects in the farm system for bigger talent in the final stretch.
Tarik Skubal started the game and pitched like everyone expected — great. The question is, will the Tigers trade him next year before his contract expires? It’s hard to give up one of the best in the business. Then again, teams like the Dodgers, Mets, or Yankees are likely to offer him far more than the Tigers will.
His agent, Scott Boras, isn’t likely to let Skubal sign a new multi-year contract with the Tigers if he can fetch far more money elsewhere. That’s the way Boras rolls.
The Tigers’ relievers on Friday night did great. Unfortunately, so did Seattle’s starter and bullpen.
Both teams blew opportunities in extra innings to score, but in the end, Seattle finally got it together to clinch the game. For them, it’s off to Toronto for the start of a series on Sunday.
It was an odd season. In the first half fans couldn't believe how well the team was doing. In the second half, they were dumbfounded how poorly they were doing.
The Tigers, in short order, will have to figure out who stays, who goes, and who comes up from the farm system in 2026.
All in all, Tigers fans had to feel some gratification that the team went as far as it did in the postseason.
Besides, many were saying: We’ve got the Lions.
