Bullpen locks down Giants as Tigers rally to complete sweep

Chris McCosky, The Detroit News on May 28, 2025

Published in Baseball

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DETROIT — The Tigers struck out 16 times on Wednesday. Their starting pitcher didn't finish five innings. They left eight runners on base and were 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

But when the 27th out was recorded, they had swept the San Francisco Giants at Comerica Park, taking a 4-3 win in the finale. It was their major league-best 37th win.

For four innings, the Tigers had no answer for the 3,000-rpm curveball of Giants’ starter Landen Roupp. He punched out seven, using the curveball and change-up off a 92-mph sinker.

He allowed only three singles, two to Gleyber Torres.

He took a 3-0 lead in the fifth and things went bad for him. Quickly. It started with an error by third baseman Matt Chapman. Kerry Carpenter, who struck out in his two previous at-bats, singled.

Torres walked to load the bases and Colt Keith delivered a two-run double just inside the bag at first base.

That ended Roupp’s day. And when right-hander Randy Rodriguez struck out Riley Greene and Wenceel Perez, it looked like the Giants would escape the inning with a lead.

Justyn-Henry Malloy foiled that, ripping a clutch two-run single to left, putting the Tigers up 4-3.

It was on the bullpen to lock it down from there.

Right-hander Brenan Hanifee ended the fifth with a strikeout, then he and lefty Tyler Holton tag-teamed the next five outs.

Veteran right-hander John Brebbia, who hasn’t gotten much leverage work this season, got the final out of the seventh. But he didn’t get an out in the eighth.

A catcher’s interference call put Willy Adames on to start the inning and LaMonte Wade Jr., singled to left and advanced to second on left fielder Kerry Carpenter’s late throw to third.

Tommy Kahnle was summoned and he impressively extricated the Tigers from the mess. He got pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey to fly out to shallow left. He struck out Christian Koss after he failed twice to lay down a bunt.

And he ended the inning getting Mike Yastrzemski to bounce to Colt Keith at first.

Kahnle then pitched a clean ninth for his seventh save.

As for the Tigers’ starter, rookie right-hander Jackson Jobe didn’t have his A-stuff in this one. His velocity was down off his season norms on every pitch, 1.5-mph less on his four-seamer. His command was spotty. It was a grind.

But his battle level was unassailable.

He gave up a run in the second on doubles by Chapman and Wade Jr., but he limited damage by getting Yastzemski to fly weakly to left on a first-pitch curveball to strand two runners.

He gave up another double to Chapman leading off the fourth and with runners at second and third and on out, Jobe struck out Sam Huff (looking at a sinker) and Koss (whiffing on a 95 mph four-seamer).

But he didn’t make it out of the fifth after walking Yastrzemski and giving a loud two-run homer to Heliot Ramos. The ball left his bat with an exit velocity of 111.4 mph and flew 426 feet over the bullpen in left.

But, as has happened a lot for Jobe, his teammates got him off the mat with that four-run sixth inning.