Jack Flaherty (1-7, 5.31) draws Tanner Bibee (1-7, 4.09) in the opener, which on paper looks like a coin flip of two guys who can't buy a win. The records lie a little — Bibee just punched out 8 scoreless innings against Texas on June 6 to finally snap a franchise-record 13-start winless streak to open the year, and Flaherty went 5 innings of 3-run ball with 7 punchouts against Seattle in his last turn.
The bigger story is the vibes gap. Detroit is 7-2 in June with 23 home runs in that stretch and just hung 11-0 on Minnesota in the series finale. Cleveland was running the Central since late April and now has dropped 6 of 7, capped by a Yankees sweep at home — the first time the Guardians got swept at Progressive Field since 2007.
The Tigers are doing this without their entire front-of-rotation, which is the wild part. Tarik Skubal goes Saturday and Casey Mize goes Sunday, both off the IL — so Flaherty is the worst arm Cleveland sees all weekend, by a lot. The lineup is also missing Javier Baez (ankle, 60-day) and Parker Meadows, but the bats haven't blinked.
- Day-To-DayDugan Darnell RP — The Tigers announced Sunday that Darnell (hip) has been playing catch five times a week and is also taking part in a running progression, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
- Day-To-DayJosue Briceno C — Briceno said Friday that he expects to be sidelined a few months after having surgery Wednesday to repair a tendon in his right wrist, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
- 15-Day-ILKenley Jansen RP — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Thursday that Jansen (pelvis) remains on track to be activated from the 15-day injured list Friday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILBurch Smith RP — Smith (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Tuesday, MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILCasey Mize SP — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Thursday that Mize (adductor) will likely be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday in Cleveland, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILTarik Skubal SP — Tigers manager A.J. Hinch confirmed Thursday that Skubal (elbow) will rejoin the rotation Saturday in Cleveland, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILJavier Baez SS — The Tigers transferred Baez (ankle) to the 60-day injured list Thursday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILJustin Verlander SP — Verlander (hip) struck out three and allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks across 5.2 innings in a rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Toledo.
- Day-To-DayCarlos Hernandez RP — Hernandez (shoulder) began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Friday.
- 15-Day-ILErik Sabrowski RP — Manager Stephen Vogt said Sabrowski (elbow) threw a bullpen session Monday that went well, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILGabriel Arias SS — no
Bibee has been a Tigers killer since the start of 2025 — 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA across 27 innings in 4 starts against Detroit. That's the one thing standing between the Guardians and a fourth straight L at home. If the lineup, which got shut out twice last week, can't scratch out 3 against Flaherty, this thing tilts fast.
Stephen Vogt's bullpen has been fine, but the offense has gone cold at exactly the wrong time. Detroit's pitching staff, even down to its depth, has been the more reliable group in June. Sneaky-big game for Cleveland's grip on the Central.