Jake Rogers ducked out of the way.
A wild slider from Los Angeles Angels right-hander Griffin Canning nearly hit Rogers in the face, but the Detroit Tigers’ catcher — batting in the nine-hole — leaned back at the last second to avoid getting hit by the pitch. Rogers responded by crushing the next pitch for a two-run home run with two outs in the sixth inning.
It was a cool moment, but the Tigers lost to the Angels, 6-5, on Saturday in the third of four games at Angel Stadium, marking their fourth loss in a row and their 16th loss in 22 games. In the latest loss, Kevin Pillar hit a walk-off single off right-handed reliever Jason Foley in the bottom of the 10th inning.
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Rogers has a .444 batting average with three home runs in 10 plate appearances against Canning in his MLB career. In Saturday’s game, Rogers smoked Canning’s middle-middle fastball for a 443-foot home run to left-center field.
His homer extended the Tigers’ lead to 5-2 in the sixth.
But the Tigers (37-46) — falling nine games below .500 and 16 games behind first place in the American League Central — couldn’t stop a comeback from the Angels.
After Rogers’ home run, the Angels scored two runs in the seventh inning and one run in the eighth to tie the game at five runs apiece before Pillar’s walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
The Angels trimmed their deficit to 5-4 with a two-run double from Taylor Ward off right-handed reliever Beau Brieske’s first-pitch fastball with one out in the seventh inning. In the eighth, Logan O’Hoppe, who blasted a clutch home run in Friday’s game, smoked a first-pitch slider from right-handed reliever Will Vest for a solo home run to left-center field, making it 5-5.
The game went into extra innings, but the Tigers — despite the free runner on second base — failed to score in the top of the 10th against flame-throwing right-handed reliever Ben Joyce, whose fastball averaged 100.4 mph.
The Angels, of course, scored in the bottom of the 10th.
Facing Foley, Luis Guillorme dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance the free runner to third base. After that, the Tigers called Matt Vierling from center field to create a five-man infield in search of a ground out to keep the runner at third base, but Pillar smacked Foley’s first-pitch sinker into left field for a line-drive single to end the game.
The Tigers have a 1-5 record in extra innings since winning three times in extra innings during their first five games of the season.
Right-hander Reese Olson, who flashed the best version of his slider, allowed two runs on five hits and three walks with nine strikeouts across six innings, throwing 98 pitches.
The Angels, though, had at least one runner on base in five of their six innings against Olson.
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The leadoff hitter reached safely in all five of those innings: Nolan Schanuel’s single in the first, Willie Calhoun’s double in the second, Schanuel’s walk in the third, Schanuel’s double in the fifth and Calhoun’s walk in the sixth.
The Angels scored both runs in the third for a 2-1 lead. The first run scored on a wild pitch with the bases loaded, and the second run scored on a groundout with two runners in scoring position.
Otherwise, Olson worked his way out of trouble.
Olson struck out three batters in a row — Zach Neto (swinging strike, slider), Mickey Moniak (swinging strike, slider), Jo Adell (called strike, fastball) — to strand runners on the corners in the second. After Calhoun’s walk, O’Hoppe struck out swinging, Neto flew out and Moniak struck out swinging to end the sixth.
That’s how Olson ended his 16th start.
He owns a 3.32 ERA in 89⅓ innings.
The Tigers scored one run in the first inning and two runs in the fourth inning.
The first run scored as a result of singles from Wenceel Pérez and Vierling, along with Riley Greene reaching safely on a fielding error. With one out, Colt Keith grounded into a force out with the bases loaded for a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, Colt Keith and Gio Urshela collected back-to-back singles. Thanks to those hits, the Tigers ended up taking a 3-2 lead when the runs scored on Zach McKinstry’s groundout and Rogers’ sacrifice fly.
Canning allowed five runs (four earned runs) on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six innings, throwing 102 pitches. He has a 4.71 ERA in 17 starts.
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’s dining scene just got even more flavorful with the opening of Sunda New Asian, bringing modern Southeast Asian cuisine to the city.
Restaurant owner Billy Dec joins the show to share what guests can expect from the new hotspot, from bold dishes and incredible cocktails to an energetic atmosphere.
Watch the video above to see what’s cooking up at Sunda New Asian.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Detroit Lions podcast includes Purple Insider Matthew Coller to talk about NFC North offseason moves.
Nolan and Richard are joined by Purple Insider Matthew Coller to talk about NFC North offseason moves.
By this point in the offseason, it’s well documented who the Detroit Lions have added, as well as who they’ve lost.
Former Carolina Panthers center Cade Mays was the prize of free agency. He’ll replace Graham Glasgow in the middle of Detroit’s offensive line. Clemson’s Blake Miller, selected 17th overall in April’s draft, is poised to quickly take over at the tackle spot opposite Penei Sewell, stepping in for Taylor Decker. The pass rush was overhauled across from Aidan Hutchinson, with Ahmed Hassanein and Tyler Lacy being the only other edge defenders still on the roster from last season.
Today, we’ll try to take our analysis a step further, identifying a few patterns within Detroit’s offseason approach and exploring what those acquisitions, retentions and departures mean for a Lions team looking to bounce back and reemerge as a title contender in 2026.
Detroit’s offense had its own share of issues throughout 2025. But what the defense produced down the stretch with the season on the line failed to meet reasonable expectations. Opponents averaged 28.1 points and 382.1 yards per game from Weeks 12-18, a stretch that resulted in four losses. Pinning all of Detroit’s defensive woes on one factor would be foolish (and you can’t ignore the role injuries played), but an inconsistent, at best, pass rush certainly didn’t help. The Lions owned the third-slowest time to pressure (2.86 seconds) in the NFL last season, according to Next Gen Stats.
Aside from the retooling opposite Hutchinson, the Lions also seemingly put an emphasis on acquiring interior defensive linemen who can get after the passer. Levi Onwuzurike is back after his contract tolled last season — Josh Paschal, a run-defending lineman who also had his contract tolled but was released in March, wasn’t afforded the same opportunity — and the Lions spent a couple of late-round draft picks on Texas Tech’s Skyler Gill-Howard and Tennessee’s Tyre West. Both players were drafted because of the flashes they’ve shown as pass rushers, particularly Gill-Howard, whose win rate in 2025 (14.4%) ranked 10th out of the 512 FBS interior defenders who rushed the passer on at least 100 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Copying the Super Bowl champions isn’t always wise — every team’s personnel has its own set of skills — but it’s striking how much Detroit’s defense differed from that of the Seattle Seahawks, who rode their defense on the way to winning the franchise’s second title. The Lions led the league in use of base defense (three linebackers) last season, deploying those packages for 657 plays, according to Next Gen Stats. The Seahawks were last, with 66 plays. It was the opposite for use of nickel defense (five defensive backs), with the Seahawks leading the league (815) and the Lions at 32nd (355). Of course, Seattle is unique, given head coach Mike Macdonald’s defensive system and nickelback Nick Emmanwori’s immediate impact as a rookie.
The Lions won’t overhaul their entire scheme in one offseason, but it’s difficult to see their moves in totality and not come away thinking they could lean more on nickel packages in 2026. Alex Anzalone, one of the league’s better linebackers against the pass, allowed the Lions to play base defense as much as they did, as he was comfortable in coverage. He’s now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Lions added a number of viable options to play nickelback next season, including veterans Christian Izien Jr. and Roger McCreary, as well as fifth-round rookie Keith Abney II (Arizona State).
Assuming the starting five, from left to right, winds up being Sewell, Christian Mahogany, Mays, Tate Ratledge and Miller, Detroit’s offensive line will have an average age of 25.2 next season. That’s down from 2025 (27.8) and 2024 (29.8). In no way does the influx of youth indicate surefire success, but the Lions would certainly be set up for sustained success if each of the five projected starters reach their ceilings. The offensive line could be even younger if 2025 fifth-rounder Miles Frazier, who is 11 months younger than Mahogany, wins the starting job at left guard. Juice Scruggs, another contender at left guard, is nine months older than Mahogany. Ben Bartch, 27, is the veteran option.
Whether Mays continues ascending at center will be key to Detroit’s success in 2026. He’s only started 20 games at the position over his four seasons in the NFL, and all of those starts have come within the last two years. He showed week-to-week growth in his 12 starts in 2025, enough for the Lions to commit $25 million ($14 million guaranteed) to him over the next three years. Mays surrendered 13 pressures last season and didn’t allow sack, according to PFF.
rsilva@detroitnews.com
@rich_silva18
How the PWHL unveiled Detroit’s team amid much fanfare
Chris Ilitch, Mary Sheffield, Jayna Hefford and Amy Scheer talk about the PWHL Detroit team on May 6, 2026.
Josh Sciba comes to the Detroit Professional Women’s Hockey League team with a tremendous recent accolade.
Named to coach the ninth franchise in the PWHL’s history on Thursday, May 28, Sciba joins the team fresh off having served as an assistant coach with the women’s team that won the gold medal at the 2026 Milano Olympics.
“I’m incredibly honored and excited for the opportunity to become the coach of PWHL Detroit and beyond grateful for the trust placed in me to help lead the organization from the beginning,” Sciba said in a statement. “This is home and especially meaningful for me and my entire family, knowing Detroit’s rich hockey history and identity firsthand and how much the women’s hockey community has been yearning for this moment.”
The Detroit PWHL team has taken shape over the past month: From being introduced on May 6 in a gala event at Little Caesars Arena (where the team will play starting late November/early December 2026) to naming Manon Rheaume general manager on May 15.
“Josh is a highly respected coach with a knowledge of the game and experience at all levels of women’s hockey that set him apart, and his passion for teaching and individual character are qualities I value in a leader,” Rhéaume said in a release “Hockeytown is in his blood, and this is an opportunity I know he is eager to embrace with an understanding of what it means to represent this city and be part of its legacy.”
Next on the agenda is shaping the roster itself, which will happen at the June 17 expansion draft at Detroit’s Fox Theatre.
Sciba, 41 and a native of Westland, has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the PWHL’s New York Sirens and brings more than 15 years of coaching experience to the role.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
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