Detroit Tigers fall as Cincinnati Reds rally for 8-4 victory, take series at Comerica Park

The Cincinnati Reds designated hitter went 3-for-5 with three RBI, including a knockout two-run home run in the ninth inning and gave the Reds an 8-4 win over the Tigers on Sunday, June 15, at Comerica Park.

"He's a tremendous player, and he's the guy that you always know where he's at in the batting order," said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.

With losses on consecutive days, following an 11-1 losing performance on Saturday, the Tigers dropped the three-game series to the Reds.

Tigers pitchers stopped the Reds for most of the game, but got in trouble in the eighth with reliever Brant Hurter starting off the inning and closer Will Vest unable to hold a 4-2 lead.

The inning started with Reds leadoff hitter TJ Friedl reaching on a throwing error from Hurter. Friedl then scored on consecutive singles from Matt McLain and De La Cruz once Vest entered the game. 

Vest then struck out Tyler Stephenson and induced a grounder from Christian Encarnacion-Strand that could have forced an inning-ending double play, but a bobble from third baseman Zach McKinstry kept the inning alive for the Reds. A sacrifice fly from Will Benson scored McLain and tied the game at 4-4, while an RBI single from Gavin Lux scored De La Cruz and gave the Reds a 5-4 lead.

A wild pitch from Vest allowed Encarnacion-Strand to score, pushing the score to 6-4, before Vest left the game accompanied by a trainer. He finished with three hits allowed and one strikeout over two-thirds of an inning pitched.

After the game, Hinch said that Vest complained of a weird feeling in his pinky and that he would be evaluated, but didn't provide any specifics on a potential injury for his closer.

De La Cruz provided the knockout punch with a two-run home run in the ninth inning, extending the Reds lead to four and nullifying the Tigers' seventh-inning rally.

"He's one of the best players in the game," Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres said.

Jun 15, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Will Vest (19) pitches in the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Tigers' seventh inning wasted

With the game tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Tigers shortstop Javier Báez led off the inning with a hustle double to right field. A failed bunt attempt by Parker Meadows and a pinch-hit strikeout from Kerry Carpenter threatened to strand him on the bag, but Torres came through with the go-ahead RBI single.

The next batter, Riley Greene, drove Torres in on a monster double to dead-center field , giving the Tigers a 4-2 lead.

Designated hitter Jahmai Jones, batting in the leadoff position for the third time this season, sent a solo home run to left-center field to kick off the scoring in the bottom of the third inning. It was Jones’ second home run of the season, the first coming off the first pitch he faced in his Tigers debut June 7. 

Torres followed with a hard-struck double to left field and set up the heart of the order, but the Tigers finished the inning with three consecutive outs and a 1-0 lead.

But the Reds quickly responded in the top of the fourth, starting with an infield single from De La Cruz that landed the speedster on second base on a throwing error from Long. A bloop single to shallow right field from the next batter Tyler Stephenson scored De La Cruz, marking the fifth run he scored against the Tigers during the series − and he later scoring a sixth run in the eighth inning and a seventh in the ninth. 

Stephenson advanced to second on a wild pitch, to third on a fielding error from Báez at shortstop and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Connor Joe. It was an uncharacteristically poor defensive game for Báez, who also flubbed a ground ball in the third inning on a Santiago Espinal base hit that could have been called an error.

But just as easily as the Tigers defense fell through in the fourth, it prevented further damage with an inning-ending strike-’em-out, throw-’em-out play, with second baseman Gavin Lux striking out and first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand getting caught stealing at second.

Wenceel Pérez, who notched a double earlier in the second inning, brought the score even in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run, his fourth of the season. He finished 2-for-3 with a walk.

Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) hits a double in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, June 15, 2025.

Detroit Tigers run another bullpen game

Left-handed pitcher Tyler Holton made his third start of the season in the opener role, pitching a clean first inning and giving way to bulk reliever Sawyer Gipson-Long in the second inning. It was Gipson-Long’s third appearance of the season and second straight in a bulk role.

Gipson-Long allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with two strikeouts over three innings pitched.

Right-hander Chase Lee followed with two innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit and walking one batter in his appearance.

Detroit is down to three healthy starters who began the season on the team’s rotation: Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize. The team announced June 11 that rookie starter Jackson Jobe would be getting season-ending Tommy John surgery, though it expects to get starter Reese Olson back by July 14.

That has forced the team to play more modified bullpen games, with pitchers Keider Montero and Gipson-Long recently getting appearances in bulk roles. The strategy helped keep the Tigers in the lead on Sunday until the eighth inning meltdown from Vest.

The Tigers defense didn't always support their pitching on Sunday, however, with three errors in the game and the key bobble from McKinstry in the seventh.

"We had too many misplays to win this series, and that's disappointing," Hinch said.

Jun 15, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cincinnati Reds first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand (33) scores on a wild pitch in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

You can reach Christian at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers fall as Cincinnati Reds rally for 8-4 victory, take series at Comerica Park