None of that stopped the Tigers from getting after Mlodzinski early. Detroit scored in each of the first two innings and kept building from there, putting real distance between itself and a Pittsburgh club still finding its footing at the plate.
By the fifth inning Detroit had built a 7-1 cushion, riding 14 hits for the game against a Pirates staff that couldn't find outs. Pittsburgh made it interesting late, scoring 4 runs in the sixth to close within 3, but the Tigers had banked enough cushion to survive it and close out an 8-5 win.
The win snaps a rough patch for Detroit, which had dropped 3 straight before Monday's trip to Pittsburgh. The Pirates, meanwhile, had actually been playing better ball, having gone 3-2 in their last 5 and taking 2 of 3 from Boston in their most recent series, which made the final margin here a mild surprise given the direction both clubs were trending.
Both injury reports colored how the game was managed. Pittsburgh is without catcher Endy Rodriguez, who sought a second opinion on his hip Monday, and outfielder Ryan O'Hearn remains sidelined, though he's been cleared to take some cage swings. Detroit's list is longer and uglier — Flaherty, Verlander and Reese Olson are all out of the rotation, and the outfield is running without Greene, Carpenter, Outman, Matt Vierling and Parker Meadows.
None of that is a great long-term outlook for either club, but for one night Detroit had enough length in the lineup to outlast a shorthanded Pittsburgh team and get back on the right side of a game that had threatened to get away from it.