Matt Vierling's first homer of 2025, a 3-run shot, powers the Tigers to a 6-5 comeback win over the Angels on Aug 9, overcoming a rare stumble by Skubal.
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
If you were waiting for a turning-point swing, Matt Vierling delivered it. Down 5-3 in the eighth on Friday night at Comerica Park, Vierling crushed his first home run of the season—a three-run shot—to lift the Tigers to a 6-5 comeback win over the Angels. It was the exact jolt this club needed after a mini-slide, pushing Detroit to 67-50 and keeping them atop the AL Central as the calendar tilts toward the stretch run.
One swing, first homer of 2025, and a two-game skid became a statement win.
The inning started the right way: disciplined at-bats. Jahmai Jones worked a walk. Gleyber Torres, one of Detroit’s steadiest bats, did the same. Then Vierling turned a two-run deficit into a one-run lead with one violent, cathartic swing. Comerica erupted. The Tigers, who had been searching for a late-inning knockout the past few nights, found it from a player who’d been waiting all season to clear the fences. Nights like this are how division leaders play: pass the baton, then pounce.
Tarik Skubal had his shortest outing of the year and, for the first time this season, allowed back-to-back homers. It happens—even to aces. The real takeaway wasn’t the blip; it was the response. The lineup kept grinding, and the bullpen stabilized the game long enough for the offense to land the counterpunch. If anything, it’s a useful reminder that October-hopeful teams win in different ways. Detroit won with resilience last night, and that travels.
Troy Melton earned the win with 2 1/3 steady relief innings, bridging the gap to new closer Kyle Finnegan, who locked down save No. 23. That matters, because the Tigers are reshaping their late-inning lanes in real time. On Friday they designated right-hander Luke Jackson for assignment and recalled righty Codi Heuer from Triple-A Toledo—another chess move in a bullpen that’s being tightened for the playoff push. Expect Heuer to get opportunities to stake out a role in the middle innings, where Detroit has been searching for dependable traffic cops ahead of Finnegan.
Before the game, AJ Hinch leveled with the fanbase: accountability, execution, and expectations must match the moment. Then his team went out and played a game that fit the memo: patient at-bats, pressure in the eighth, and enough pitching to slam the door. The standings context matters here—the Tigers are 67-50 and still leading the AL Central—but so does the identity forming underneath it. You could see it in Riley Greene and Gleyber Torres continuing to set the tone (both at 26 homers and 84 RBIs) and in the way role players delivered when it counted.
The celebration was instant. The Tigers’ social feeds blasted out Vierling’s trot, teammates swarmed him at the plate, and fans flooded timelines with a simple message: this team doesn’t fold. After a couple of frustrating nights, the reaction felt like the release everyone needed. And it doubled as a statement to the division: Detroit can win ugly, win late, and win with different heroes.
This win does more than halt a skid—it underscores the formula Detroit wants to ride into September: the top of the order wears you down, the bullpen shortens the game, and Hinch pushes the right buttons. Watch how the Tigers integrate Codi Heuer this weekend and how they continue to slot Melton and Finnegan into leverage. Keep an eye on early offense to take heat off the ‘pen, and on clean defense to erase the free 90 feet that extended innings earlier in the week. The Angels series continues at Comerica, and with the division race tightening by the day, every inning is going to feel a little louder.
Vierling’s swing may age as one of those circle-it moments: the night a team underlined its identity with a late thunderclap. With the bullpen being tuned for October and Hinch setting a clear standard, the Tigers wake up Saturday still on top—and with a chance to turn a single comeback into a weekend tone-setter.
