Detroit Tigers' No. 1 picks Spencer Torkelson, Casey Mize deliver 1-0 win over Guardians
CLEVELAND — On a night when the Detroit Tigers desperately needed a long outing from their starting pitcher, right-hander Casey Mize gave them seven scoreless innings, handed the game to the weary bullpen, and for the second straight game here at Progressive Field, the bullpen shut the door.
The Tigers beat the Cleveland Guardians, 1-0, on Saturday, July 5, to win for the second time in the three-game series. Left-hander Tarik Skubal is scheduled to close out the series on Sunday, July 6.
Brant Hurter took over from Mize and threw a scoreless eighth inning — the left-hander has pitched better lately. Right-hander Tommy Kahnle then closed the ninth by striking out pinch-hitter Kyle Manzardo with the tying run on first base.
The Tigers (56-34) have struggled to score against Cleveland (40-47) this season, managing 14 runs in six games. Their lone run Saturday night came from the bat of their hottest hitter, Spencer Torkelson.
Torkelson homered to start the second inning, an opposite-field shot to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
It was his third home run in five games and he 20th of the year, one behind Riley Greene, the team leader. Torkelson nearly had a second homer, but his blast in the fourth inning bounced off the high wall in left field.
Steven Kwan played the ricochet perfectly and rifled a throw to second to keep Torkelson at first base. Torkelson had a chance to add to the Tigers’ lead in the ninth inning against reliever Tim Herrin but grounded into a double play with the bases loaded.
Casey Mize gets a split decision
Mize used his split-finger fastball to keep Guardians hitters off balance all night. He regularly reached 95 mph with his fastball, allowing four hits in seven innings.
It was an old-school outing that way. Mize finished the sixth inning with 86 pitches and when he walked to the dugout after getting a flyout from Carlos Santana to end the inning, everyone figured he’d shake hands with manager A.J. Hinch, signaling an end to his evening.
He didn’t.
Mize had only pitched more than six innings three ties this season: Once against the Kansas City Royals on April 19, a seven-inning stint and another seven-inning run against the Los Angeles Angels on May 1. And then there was his previous outing, against Minnesota on June 28 when he pitched 6⅔ innings.
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Casey Mize (12) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Saturday, July 5, 2025.
He threw 102 pitches, a season high, against Cleveland, 68 of them for strikes.
Mize stranded five runners, with the game getting a little spicy in the seventh when Angel Martinez ripped a four-seam fastball deep to right center with one out. But Matt Vierling tracked it down at the wall in right-center, running into a padded door as he made the catch.
The next batter, Bo Naylor, yanked a slider down the right-field line that bounced into the seats for a ground-rule double. Mize got out of trouble by getting a groundout to short from Johnathan Rodríguez to end the threat.
Saturday brough Mize's ninth win this season and 18th of his career. It was the fifth time in six outings he allowed two runs or fewer.
An All-Star collision for Gleyber Torres
Detroit Tigers third base coach Joey Cora (56) and manager A.J. Hinch (14) and medical personnel look at second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Saturday, July 5, 2025.
Second baseman Gleyber Torres was elbowed in the head on a tag while running to second base in the first inning Saturday. July 5, against Cleveland. Guardians' shortstop Brayan Rocchio had to adjust to an off-line relay throw from Martinez and his momentum carried him into Torres, arriving at second after having walked as the game's second batter.
Torres lay on the dirt for a few minutes as manager A.J. Hinch and the Tigers' trainer tended to him. He eventually got up and left the game. Javier Báez moved to second base and Trey Sweeney came in to play shortstop.
Afterward, the Tigers announced Torres' exit as a neck contusion.
Torres was recently voted to the 2025 MLB All-Star Game as the American League's starting second baseman. He signed a one-year deal in the offseason after seven years with the New York Yankees.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' No. 1 picks Spencer Torkelson, Casey Mize deliver 1-0 win over Guardians
