Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers Clicking on All Cylinders Entering Wednesday’s Matchup vs. Angels
![Detroit Tigers Clicking on All Cylinders Entering Wednesday’s Matchup vs. Angels Detroit Tigers Clicking on All Cylinders Entering Wednesday’s Matchup vs. Angels](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3600,h_2025,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/tigers_baseball_report/01j6d9ggye3m2veyevp7.jpg)
The Detroit Tigers are the hottest team in baseball. Riding a five-game winning streak, there isn’t another franchise in the league that has been doing more winning than them recently.
The Tigers swept a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox and kept the momentum going in their series opener against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. They won 6-2, as they are currently clicking on all cylinders.
Detroit is receiving contributions from several arms on the pitching staff beyond Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal. Last night, it was Brant Hurter who fired five strong innings, surrendering only two runs.
He was backed by a lineup that has come to life in recent weeks as the young players on the team are emerging.
Jake Rogers, Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter all hit home runs in support of Hurter. Matt Vierling provided support with an RBI double, with the sixth run being knocked in courtesy of a Carpenter single.
That victory put the Tigers over the .500 mark. It is the first time since 2016 that they are above the .500 mark after the All-Star break.
They will be looking to run their winning streak to six games on Wednesday, as Mason Englert will be taking the mound. Used in relief for 11 appearances, this will be his first start of the season.
Manager A.J. Hinch has been masterfully navigating a shortage of starting pitchers by deploying several openers each turn through the rotation. That looks to be Englert’s job tonight, as Kenta Maeda could be in line to eat up innings behind him.
Opposing Englert on the mound for the Angels is Griffin Canning. He is making his 27th appearance of the season and 26th start. 2024 has been a struggle for him, as he is 4-11 with a 5.18 ERA across 139 innings.
The long ball has hurt Griffin throughout the campaign, as he has given up 24 home runs. That is bad news going up against a red-hot Tigers lineup that has been crushing the ball as of late.
Even with an opener taking the mount, Detroit is a sizable favorite tonight. They are listed at -165, which has an implied probability of 62.1 percent chance to win. Los Angeles is a +138 underdog with an implied probability of 42 percent chance to win.
The over/under for runs scored is set at nine, as we could see some offense once again at Comerica Park.
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Detroit, MI
How many Detroit Lions free agency losses made new team’s 53-man roster?
![How many Detroit Lions free agency losses made new team’s 53-man roster? How many Detroit Lions free agency losses made new team’s 53-man roster?](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5tvn88l360RsrWZlRhTHNPQ37Zs=/0x0:3600x1885/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25592367/1923048380.jpg)
This offseason, the Detroit Lions moved on from over a dozen players from the 2023 team and practice squad who ended up signing free agency deals with other teams. With roster cuts coming down on Tuesday, many of those players did not end up sticking around with their new team. Of course, it’s quite possible they’ll find their way back onto their team’s practice squad or another roster entirely.
But for now, here’s a look at the status of the notable players who left the Lions this offseason.
Made their initial 53-man roster
TE Zach Ertz — Made the Commanders roster
WR Josh Reynolds — Made the Broncos roster
OG Jonah Jackson — Made the Rams roster
DT Benito Jones — Made the Dolphins roster
CB Will Harris — Made the Saints roster
DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson — Made the Eagles roster
Didn’t make their initial 53-man roster
OT Matt Nelson — Released by Giants
EDGE Julian Okwara — Released by Eagles
LB Anthony Pittman — Released by Commanders
CB Chase Lucas — Waived by 49ers
CB Cam Sutton — Placed on reserve/suspended list of Steelers
CB Jerry Jacobs — Waived (w/injury settlement) from Rams
S Tracy Walker — Released by 49ers
In total, just six of the 13 players who parted ways with the Lions this offseason managed to stick to their new team’s 53-man roster. That said, it would not be surprising to see a few of the cut players return to their new team’s practice squad.
Still, it’s interesting to see that guys who were once considered major parts of the Lions’ future—like Tracy Walker and Jerry Jacobs—find themselves looking for jobs on Wednesday. It’s a stark reminder that things change in a hurry in the NFL.
In case you’re wondering if any of these waived/released players could return to Detroit, it’s hard to say. The Lions moved on from many of them for a reason. I could see some interest in guys like Pittman and Lucas for their special teams skills, but Detroit seems to have already have each of their replacements in Ben Niemann and Loren Strickland.
Regardless, we wish these guys the best, and we’ll update this post after the second wave of roster moves and practice squad signings.
Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers surge to winning record with home runs in 6-2 win over Los Angeles Angels
![Detroit Tigers surge to winning record with home runs in 6-2 win over Los Angeles Angels Detroit Tigers surge to winning record with home runs in 6-2 win over Los Angeles Angels](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/08/28/PDTF/74976517007-usatsi-24092520.jpg?auto=webp&crop=3599,2025,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Detroit Tigers’ Javier Báez returns to Wrigley Field
Former Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Báez talks to reporters Aug. 20, 2024, about returning to Wrigley Field for the first time since 2021.
The Detroit Tigers hit three home runs in a span of five plate appearances against Los Angeles Angels right-hander Johnny Cueto, with the three homers combining for 1,272 feet.
All of them were long homers to center field.
Jake Rogers hit a first-pitch fastball 422 feet; Riley Greene hit a middle-middle sinker 425 feet; Kerry Carpenter hit a middle-down changeup 425 feet.
The three homers, headlined by Rogers’ go-ahead swing in the fifth inning, led to a 6-2 win over the Angels in Tuesday’s opener of a three-game series at Comerica Park. The game didn’t start until 9:25 p.m., rather than 6:40 p.m., because of a rain delay.
“It’s huge,” Rogers said. “Those are big at-bats. I tried to get things going there at the bottom of the lineup and get it up to those guys, Murderers’ Row. Every homer is a good homer.”
The Tigers (67-66) have won five games in a row, exceeding a .500 record for the first time since June 4. The Tigers are 5½ games back of the final spot in the American League wild-card.
They have a 12-3 record in their past 15 games.
“It’s awesome, where we’re at as a team,” Greene said. “We’re not going to change a thing. We’re going to go out there and try to win every game we can.”
Three long homers benefited the Tigers, but not before they took advantage of mistakes from the Angels in the fourth inning, scoring their first two runs of the game.
The Angels made defensive mistakes on Parker Meadows’ triple, Matt Vierling’s RBI double and Kerry Carpenter’s RBI single, but only one error was charged on the three misplays. Regardless, the Tigers grabbed a 2-1 lead.
After the Angels answered back, the Tigers crushed three home runs off Cueto across the fifth and sixth innings.
“He was going to pump strikes,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “Johnny Cueto has been a strike-thrower, and he can changes shapes, and he does the shimmy, and he disrupts timing. As a young team, we warned our guys that he’s going to be in full shimmy mode. He didn’t do it quite as much as I anticipated, mostly because we got a few guys on and he was getting really quick outs. We wanted to be aggressive against him.”
Rogers put the Tigers ahead, 3-2, with a two-out solo home run to center field in the fifth. In the sixth, Greene hit a solo homer and Carpenter hit a two-run homer, making it 6-2.
Greene has 19 home runs in 108 games.
“I tell them all the time, ‘If Rog can do it, anybody can do it,’” Rogers said. “It’s fun when you win. It definitely helps when you score a lot of runs.”
The homer from Carpenter chased Cueto, a 17-MLB veteran who allowed six runs on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts across five-plus innings, throwing 83 pitches. It was the second start in the big leagues this season, following 13 starts in the minor leagues.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
First time starting
Left-hander Brant Hurter — who started 18 of 19 games in Triple-A Toledo — appeared in four games as a long reliever to begin his MLB career, but he started Tuesday for the first time.
Hurter, who turns 26 in early September, gave up two runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts, throwing 80 pitches. He found success against a lineup with a lot of right-handed hitters, even without a premier pitch to get righties out.
“It wasn’t too different,” Hurter said. “A lot of lineups I’ve faced take all their lefties out because I’m better against lefties, so it wasn’t something too new. It was one lefty. I think I did that in Triple-A, so it wasn’t anything crazy.”
RACKING UP WINS: Detroit Tigers haven’t been .500 this late into season since 2016
The Angels scored one run apiece in the first and fifth innings, thanks to Nolan Schanuel’s RBI single in the first and Taylor Ward’s sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Hurter retired 10 batters in a row from one out in the first inning through two outs in the fourth inning. He also stranded two runners in scoring position in the first inning, which he advanced with a balk, when he struck out Anthony Rendon looking with a sweeper that painted the corner of the strike zone.
Hurter has a 3.57 ERA with three walks and 21 strikeouts across 22.2 innings in five games (one start) in his MLB career.
“I wasn’t too happy with my outing,” Hurter said. “I wasn’t landing my offspeed at all. I was getting away with the sinker. I don’t think I pitched well by any means.”
After Hurter, the Tigers picked up scoreless efforts from right-handed reliever Brenan Hanifee, right-handed reliever Shelby Miller and right-handed reliever Jason Foley. In the ninth, Foley recorded the final out after Miller allowed two batters to reach safely with two outs.
Hanifee retired all eight batters he faced, covering 2⅔ innings.
“He can really go into attack mode with the two-seam, four-seam and an occasional slider,” Hinch said. “Eight up, eight down was really the key outs of the game. When I took Hurter out, that’s a lot of game left and a lot of pitching that needed to be used.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Detroit, MI
Report: Detroit Lions to sign veteran WR Tim Patrick to practice squad
![Report: Detroit Lions to sign veteran WR Tim Patrick to practice squad Report: Detroit Lions to sign veteran WR Tim Patrick to practice squad](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/images/smg/2024/08/27/SMGW/74974040007-USATSI_17150512.jpeg?auto=webp&crop=3068,1726,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Why Detroit Lion Giovanni Manu’s first NFL game was so special
Detroit Lion Giovanni Manu played in his first NFL game in August 2024. That game was special because it was a chance to make his parents proud.
It didn’t take long for the Detroit Lions to find help for their receiving corps.
The Lions are expected to sign veteran receiver Tim Patrick to their practice squad, ESPN reported Tuesday.
Patrick was released by the Denver Broncos as part of their cut down to a 53-player roster Tuesday. As a vested veteran, he is not subject to waivers.
The 30-year-old Patrick has spent parts of the past seven seasons with the Broncos, but missed the 2022-23 seasons with ACL and Achilles injuries. In 2021, he caught a career-high 53 passes for 734 yards and five touchdowns, and adds size (6 feet 4, 212 pounds) and a deep-play element to the Lions offense.
DAVE BIRKETT: Lions cut backup QB Nate Sudfeld: Here’s why it’s a wise move
The Lions kept just four receivers at Tuesday’s NFL roster deadline: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond and undrafted rookie Isaiah Williams. Jameson Williams is the only receiver taller than 6 feet.
Lions coach Dan Campbell acknowledged Monday the Lions were undersized at the position, but said adding a bigger receiver was not imperative for the offense.
“I wouldn’t say (not having one) limits us, but like any offense or defense, man, you want, ‘Give us everything,’” Campbell said. “If you can have it all, then you can use it all. But no, it’s not going to limit what we do. It would be a luxury to have.”
The Lions have one open spot on their 53-man roster, and could use that to add a player off waivers or another veteran, or save it for Patrick.
[ Lions fans: Get ready for this season by reliving the team’s epic 2023 season with a new book from the Free Press, “From Grit to Glory.” Order now! ]
They are expected to place defensive tackle John Cominsky on injured reserve in the coming days to create another opening, and have indicated they plan to re-sign nose tackle Kyle Peko, who they released as part of their initial roster cuts Tuesday.
In Denver, Patrick was the odd man out in a receiving corps that features Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Devaughn Vele, former Lions receiver Josh Reynolds and rookie Troy Franklin.
In 2021, the Lions acquired receiver Trinity Benson in a cut-day trade with the Broncos in an effort to bolster their receiver room. Benson caught 10 passes in nine games with the Lions over two seasons.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
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