The Detroit Tigers have had a historic season so far, but they would love to soon forget the history they just made in Pittsburgh. The Pirates’ roster is built to record a stat like this. No team has hit Paul Skenes and being victim to Oneil Cruz’s insane athleticism can happen any night.
Tigers' Skid Leads to Pirates History, Will This Adversity Help Detroit? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Detroit Tigers have had a historic season so far, but they would love to soon forget the history they just made in Pittsburgh.
By sweeping the Tigers, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, the Pirates became the first team since 1980 to sweep a team with the best record in either league after having been swept by a team with the worst record, at least 80 games into a year.
The Pirates’ roster is built to record a stat like this. No team has hit Paul Skenes and being victim to Oneil Cruz’s insane athleticism can happen any night. But beyond them, it is hard to see many big contributors anywhere on their squad.
It still left a nasty taste in the Tigers’ mouths.
“We had a really bad mental game today,” manager AJ Hinch told the Detroit Free Press. “That’s really rare for this team. We paid for it. It’s tough because some of it might be trying to do too much, some of it might be trying to do too little…They’re just mistakes that we know we can fix, and we will fix.”
After a first half where everything was going right, the Tigers can’t seem to find their footing at all. It could be a good thing.
The race for the division was over in mid-June. Their ace is cruising towards back-to-back Cy Youngs. Nobody has gotten to a total win milestone before them.
Were some kinks to pop up in an ALDS series, they might only have a 48-hour period to identify them and implement a strategy.
With 60 games left in the season and a division cushion, this is the perfect time for them to go through their worst stretch and see how to best adjust their team. Playing with the lineup and testing different things can unlock parts of a team the manager did not see before.
These are not the games fans want to see, but they are important. This will give them experience righting the ship. In the heat of a postseason battle, those are the types of players that always keep you in a game.
Join the conversation with us on Facebook and X.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Baseball
