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Tigers = Kings: Detroit keeps beating rest of MLB
Entering this weekend’s action, these were the best records in baseball since August 11 of the previous season:
1. Tigers (68-33)
2. Dodgers (64-37)
T-3. Mets (62-39)
T-3. Phillies (62-39)
5. Yankees (60-39)
How about that? For 2025 alone, Detroit entered the weekend at 37-20, also MLB’s best. That’s on the heels of catching fire about a week and a half after last year’s trade deadline. The Tigers were sellers at that deadline, if you’ll recall, sending pitcher Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers. But they perked up anyway and got all the way to Game 5 of the American League Division Series.
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“The Tigers are here to stay,” reads a headline in The Athletic this week. That’s despite entering this season with a win total right in the middle of MLB, per BetMGM.
What’s going on? This roster is extremely similar to last year’s, but that belies some significant differences between the team that finished 2024 on a heater and the team that has started 2025 on one:
- 2020 No. 1 pick Spencer Torkelson looked like he was out of a starting job after a bad 2024. But a series of injuries put Torkelson in the lineup, and he’s had a breakout.
- Utility man Zach McKinstry, also pressed into more responsibility, is having his own career year, going from hitting .215 to .266.
- Javier Báez has turned back the clock with a few great months as a center fielder, a totally new position for him. Báez, 32, looked badly cooked after last year.
- The Tigers basically did not have a No. 2 starter down the stretch in 2024. In their ALDS against the Guardians, non-Tarik Skubal starters recorded zero, three and 12 outs, respectively. This year, Skubal is still balling, but he has more backing from Flaherty, Casey Mize and Reese Olson. (Another starter, Jackson Jobe, has just gone to the injured list with a flexor strain.)
It’s been an organizational turnaround after the big-league club missed nine postseasons in a row and the farm system consistently ranked among baseball’s worst. Now Keith Law ranks the system seventh, and believes it’s the team’s best since the days of Justin Verlander and Curtis Granderson.
The Tigers look real to me, but I still had questions for Cody Stavenhagen, who covers the club for The Athletic. First off: Torkelson! Walks and power are up; strikeouts are down. Was this just a matter of getting more comfortable with big-league pitching?
💬 We’ve seen Torkelson hit big-league pitching before. He had 31 homers only two years ago. But a series of small stance changes — a little less spread out, a little more upright, a little more open — have really helped him be athletic and adjustable. His performance so far is a reminder of how the little details really can make a huge difference.
Is the Regression Monster poised to pay anyone a visit?
💬 I think the Tigers are very much for real. It helps they’re getting players such as Parker Meadows back from injury. But there’s already reason to believe the Báez resurgence was a short-lived phenomenon. Since his two-home run game against Boston, he’s only 6-for-38, and his chase rate has crept back above 40 percent. McKinstry and Dillon Dingler are candidates to cool off, and there are also some concerns with a bullpen that doesn’t generate a ton of swing and miss. The bullpen has struggled some in May and could be an area where the Tigers look to upgrade at the trade deadline.
I also think the Tigers are serious. We move.
News to Know
French Open scheduling draws criticism
French Open officials have pushed back against the notion that they are slighting women’s tennis. The night slot on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the main stadium at Roland Garros, has almost exclusively been reserved for men’s matches — much to the chagrin of women’s players. Earlier in the week, the president of France’s tennis federation said the men’s tournament offers “better matches.” Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo was grilled about the situation yesterday in a confrontational press conference. Pam Shriver called Mauresmo’s comments “triggering, painful and disappointing” on the latest episode of “The Tennis Podcast.”
More news:
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What to Watch
📺 French Open: Joao Fonseca vs. Jack Draper
8:30 a.m. ET* on TNT/Max
If you’re up early on a Saturday, you won’t want to miss this one. Joao Fonseca is the 18-year-old Brazilian phenom whose name you will hear for years to come, and Jack Draper is playing the best tennis of his life … at 23 years old, sure. *Expect a later start time than advertised.
📺 UCL: PSG vs. Inter Milan
3 p.m. ET on CBS/Paramount+
The UEFA Champions League final has arrived. A wily group of veterans seeking immortality versus a young, hungry squad that somehow got better after losing Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi. This is the highlight of the weekend.
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📺 NBA: Knicks at Pacers, Game 6
8 p.m. ET on TNT
The Knicks sent a message to the Pacers on Thursday. Tyrese Haliburton produced a game for the ages in Game 4, and then had a clunker in Game 5, while Jalen Brunson does not look like he’s going down without a fight. The Pacers are in serious trouble if they don’t close it out at home tonight.
Pulse Picks
The Athletic’s weekly sports news quiz.
I started Netflix’s ‘Sirens’ thinking it would be a guilty pleasure. No guilt about it! Five easy episodes, perfect popcorn TV. — Hannah Vanbiber
After Torrey’s recommendation a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been getting into dirty chais lately. We don’t talk about this enough in the coffee/tea universe. A delight. — Chris Branch
I actually have an update to that rec now, too: this Sherpa Chai unsweetened concentrate (this bottle is enormous), then add just a touch of simple syrup, which you can easily make at home. — Torrey Hart
Why did a Manute Bol basketball card sell for more than $20,000 this week? Larry Holder explains.
Grilling season reminded me to state a pistol hot take: Potato buns are the best buns. Useful beyond burgers. Try some Martin’s. 🥔🥔🥔 — Chris Sprow
Hot Mustard Doritos: top-tier Doritos. I assure you that I do not say that lightly. — Jason Kirk
Ahead of today’s USWNT-China friendly, Tamerra Griffin has a nice piece on Sam Coffey’s leadership evolution.
French Pop is not usually my wheelhouse but this album — “Choke Enough” by Oklou (it’s in English) — is delightfully weird, eclectic in both composition and arrangement, and a nice late-spring mood-lifter. — Levi Weaver
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our update on Ohio State’s attempt to move its Week 1 game against Texas to Sunday.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Tim Britton’s ranking of the 25 best MLB games of the 2000s so far.
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(Top photo: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)
