Chris Paddack shines in his debut as the Detroit Tigers crush the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2 on July 31. See how the Tigers' bold deadline moves paid off.
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
Just a week ago, the Detroit Tigers were mired in a miserable 1-12 slump, and the mood around Comerica Park was grim. What a difference a few days make. On Thursday, the Tigers didn't just win their fourth straight game with a dominant 7-2 victory over the Diamondbacks; they sent a shockwave through the American League by aggressively remaking their bullpen at the trade deadline. The message from Scott Harris is loud and clear: The slump is over, and the hunt for a championship is on.
6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 K, 0 BB - Chris Paddack's dominant stat line in his Detroit Tigers debut.
The ink was barely dry on the trade that brought him from Minnesota, but Chris Paddack pitched like a seasoned Detroit veteran. Making his first start in the Old English D, Paddack was masterful, carving up the Arizona lineup for six innings of one-run ball. He allowed just three hits and, most impressively, issued zero walks while striking out five. It was the kind of stabilizing, top-of-the-rotation performance the team desperately needed, and an immediate validation of the front office's move to acquire him.
While Paddack handled business on the mound, the offense provided more than enough support. Kerry Carpenter was the star of the show, continuing his hot streak with a 2-for-3 night that included a two-out triple in the third and a back-breaking two-run homer in the fifth. He finished with three RBIs. Not to be outdone, Jake Rogers blasted his own two-run shot in the sixth to blow the game open. With Colt Keith adding a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate, the lineup looked deep, dangerous, and ready for a postseason push.
Perhaps the biggest news of the day came off the field. Addressing the team's most glaring weakness, the Tigers acquired a trio of veteran relievers: Kyle Finnegan from the Nationals, Paul Sewald from the division-rival Guardians, and Rafael Montero from the Braves. Finnegan and Montero provide immediate, reliable arms to shore up the late innings, while Sewald offers high-upside potential once he returns from the IL. These weren't minor tweaks; they were decisive moves to build a championship-caliber bullpen.
With a revamped bullpen, a new starter already looking like an ace, and an offense that's firing on all cylinders, the Detroit Tigers have flipped the script on their season. The painful slump is firmly in the rearview mirror, and the road ahead points toward October. For the first time in a generation, the talk of a World Series run in Detroit feels real, backed by a team and a front office that are clearly all in.
