DETROIT – The Tigers have two games with home field advantage, and one Tarik Skubal start left to punch their ticket to the American League championship series.
After winning game one and losing game two, they will play at 4:08 PM ET Tuesday, and 3:08 PM ET Wednesday at Comerica Park in Detroit, then will return to Seattle for game five if necessary.
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Logan Gilbert (6-6, 3.44 ERA) will start for the Mariners on Tuesday. His last outing was ten days ago vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers. He pitched 5 innings, surrendered two runs, and struck out 5 batters.
In 2025, the Tigers hit .262 off Gilbert with a 42.2% strikeout rate. Historically, few Tigers seem to see him better than others:
Javier Baez – 3-for-8, 2 RBI, .375 AVG
Dillon Dingler – 2-for-3, double, 2 RBI, .667 AVG
Riley Greene – 5-for-12, double, .417 AVG
Gleyber Torres – 6-for-16, double, .375 AVG
Gilbert features a four-seam fastball with carry that he throws most frequently at the top of the strike zone and throws mid-to-upper 90s.
His slider is tight with late downer movement, typically thrown upper 80s. His split-finger fastball is his “out pitch,” featuring a late darting action and inducing whiffs a whopping 50% of the time.
Jack Flaherty (8-15, 4.64 ERA) will start Tuesday for the Tigers. His last start came against the Cleveland Guardians in the Wild Card series where he surrendered just one earned run in 4.2 innings, striking out four batters.
The Mariners hit only .222 off Flaherty in 2025 with a 35% strikeout rate. A few batters to watch out for (Career numbers):
Randy Arozarena – 3-for-8, double, 2 home runs, .375 AVG
J.P. Crawford – 3-for-7, 2 doubles, .429 AVG
Eugenio Suarez – 6-for-25, double, 3 home runs, .985 OPS
The key to Flaherty’s success depends on how well he commands his fastball, and the quality of the pitch.
When he is able to move his fastball around to all quadrants of the strike zone with ease, it boosts the quality of his secondary pitches – the filthy, late-breaking slider and knuckle curve he throws to induce swing-and-miss.