Detroit Tigers' bullpen blows lead after Jack Flaherty stars in 5-4 loss to Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty has struggled in most of his starts this season, but he might be back to his dominance of last season.

That's how it looked in his latest performance.

Flaherty allowed just one run in six-plus innings, but the Tigers' bullpen squandered his success in a 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, Aug. 1, in the first of three games at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies scored all five runs in the seventh and eighth innings, including four runs (three earned) off relievers.

The Tigers (64-47) lost for the first time in five games.

The Phillies took the lead on Bryson Stott's infield single, which drove in the game-winning run in the eighth inning. After that, new Phillies closer Jhoan Duran — a flamethrower acquired from the Minnesota Twins for two top-100 prospects at the trade deadline — needed just four pitches to slam the door in the ninth inning.

Duran has a 1.97 ERA in 50 games.

Everything unraveled for the Tigers in the seventh inning.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) reacts after a victory against the Detroit Tigers at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.

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Flaherty took the mound and worked ahead in the count, but Nick Castellanos sparked the Phillies with a two-strike single, chasing Flaherty. By the end of the seventh, the Phillies tied the game, 3-3, with a sacrifice fly vs. left-handed reliever Tyler Holton and two RBI singles off. right-handed reliever Will Vest.

The Tigers regained the lead, 4-3, in the eighth inning, thanks to Wenceel Pérez hitting a solo home run off right-handed reliever Orion Kerkering.

To protect the lead, the Tigers turned to right-handed reliever Brenan Hanifee to face a pocket of five right-handed hitters in a row in the eighth. Righties were hitting just .205 with a .499 OPS against Hanifee, who hadn't allowed a run in nine outings.

But Hanifee gave up two hits to those righties.

After the Phillies tied the game again on Otto Kemp's double, Hanifee fielded a soft grounder in front of the plate and threw the ball away with two outs in the eighth. The throwing error extended the inning for the Phillies, with a runner on third.

The rare mistake led to Stott's infield single.

He was initially ruled out, but replay review overturned the call on the field.

That's how the Phillies took a 5-4 lead.

Jack Flaherty stars in Philadelphia

Before the bullpen imploded, Flaherty allowed one run on two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in six-plus innings, throwing 60 of 95 pitches for strikes. The Phillies didn't get their first hit until two outs in the fifth inning.

The 29-year-old owns a 4.36 ERA in 22 starts.

For the first hit, Edmundo Sosa connected on a two-strike slider for a long fly ball to left field. The ball bounced off the top of the wall, allowing Sosa to pull in for a double.

Flaherty walked the next batter, but he stranded runners on the corners by getting Trea Turner to pop out, ending the fifth. In the sixth, he sent down three batters in a row — Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto — in his third time through the heart of the lineup.

He struck out Harper with a nasty slider.

Flaherty generated 15 whiffs — three fastballs, seven sliders, five curveballs — for a 34.1% whiff rate, improved from a 29% whiff rate in his first 21 starts. The velocity was up on all of his pitches, including 1.5 mph on his slider.

Gleyber Torres hits milestone

Detroit Tigers second base Gleyber Torres (25) reacts after hitting a three RBI home run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.

For the Phillies, left-hander Ranger Suárez shut down the Tigers for the majority of his 92-pitch performance, but he still allowed three runs on four hits and zero walks with five strikeouts across seven innings — all because of Gleyber Torres.

In the third inning, Torres hit a three-run home run against Suárez's up-and-in cutter after he refused to swing at four outside pitches, working a 3-1 count.

The three-ball count got him a good pitch to hit.

And Torres didn't miss.

It was the 150th home run of his eight-year MLB career, spanning 986 games.

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This story was updated to add a gallery.  

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' bullpen blows lead after Jack Flaherty stars in 5-4 loss to Phillies