Staggering Stats Show How One Month Changed Everything for Tigers
In this story:
The Detroit Tigers had so much optimism coming into the month of May. They were 16-16 and at the top of the division. Their two-time AL Cy Young winner was anchoring a rotation that looked capable of being a serious contender.
What happened?
Well, six weeks later and the Tigers are now 22-38, last in the division and went an atrocious 6-22 in May. The numbers behind this collapse tell a sad story. Injuries, bullpen failures, and a tired offense all combined to lead this team down a path of losing.
The Rotation Fell Apart
This is the central theme behind the collapse of this team. Skubal was just doing Skubal things before May 4, a day that the Tigers won’t soon forget. He was 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA across his seven starts, and then disaster struck when, to everyone’s surprise, it was announced that Skubal was out and needed surgery.
Jack Flaherty was signed to provide more veteran stability to the team and has been, quite possibly, the team’s biggest disappointment. He has gone 0-7 with a 5.81 ERA across his 12 starts and 52.2 innings of work. This is a guy who was supposed to anchor the backend of the rotation.
Casey Mize was doing all he could to help this team before getting sent to the IL on May 29. He had posted a 2-3 record with a stellar 2.27 ERA across his nine starts.
Justin Verlander only got one start in this season before being placed on the IL with hip inflammation.
Framber Valdez hasn’t been the exciting player everyone thought he would be for Detroit. When he was signed, the Tigers had a dream team in Skubal and Valdez. So far, that dream hasn’t been quite as good as it should have been. Valdez has a 4.39 ERA, which is the second-worst season of his career. Only 2019 was worse, when he earned a 5.86 ERA over 26 games and 70.2 innings.
Keider Montero has quietly been holding his own on the struggling team. He is 2-3 with a 3.69 ERA across 11 starts and 61 innings.
A Bullpen Not Pulling Their Weight
The failures of the Detroit bullpen have been duly noted. They have recorded 14 blown saves before the month of June even clicks over on the calendar. This team just can’t get it done late in the game and the record reflects it.
Kenley Jansen, who was signed to close games, has converted 7 of 11 save opportunities. Now he sits on the IL with groin tightness. Will Vest has been a complete disaster. In his 17 innings of pitching, he has recorded a 7.41 ERA. Ricky Vanasco appeared in five games and proved he was ready to be sent back to Triple-A Toledo with his 15.63 ERA.
Detroit then reached down to Beau Brieske on May 29 to make him active. He immediately posted a 20.25 ERA in his first showing.
The injury list takes over again and makes the situation even worse. Brant Hurter is now on the 60-day IL with lumbar spine inflammation. He was one of the best options the Tigers had with his 4-1 record and a 2.84 ERA. He had a perfect score of saves so far in the 2026 season.
Burch Smith could be proud of his 3.18 ERA before landing on the IL with shoulder inflammation. This is the sad tale of a team that, when things were working, injuries shut them down. The arms that remain have shown on the field and in the stat categories that they just can’t get the job done.
Kyle Finnegan is the team’s last remaining reliable option. He has a 2.03 ERA across his 26 appearances, but for things looking that good, he has recorded four of the team’s 14 blown saves.
Digging Into The Offense
Really looking at the statistical picture, the offense is not the main problem, but it certainly isn’t great. Riley Greene has been the Tigers’ best player this year. He is slashing .301/.391/.426 for an .817 OPS. He has 30 runs scored in 60 games.
Kevin McGonigle. What more do you need to say? The shortstop has turned heads at every point this year. He is slashing a .286/.390/.410 with a .800 OPS.
Dillon Dingler has knocked the ball out of the park 11 times this year and sports a .771 OPS.
So, what’s the problem here? Well, the supporting cast who should be adding value and making this team’s job easier, hasn’t really shown up yet.
Spencer Torkelson is batting .214 with a .720 OPS. Colt Keith sits at .280 but just a .666 OPS and zero home runs. Zach McKinstry is literally unplayable at this point. He is slashing a .157/.244/.213.
Continuing on down the line, Jahmai Jones is hitting .155 and Jake Rogers has a .137 average after 51 at-bats. These numbers don’t win games, and they certainly don’t contend.
Not only do these numbers not win games, but when you look at the fact that the pitching staff has allowed 301 runs on the season, the picture becomes increasingly clear why this team sits 11.5 games back in the AL Central.
The Historic Road Record
Want the stat that completely damns this team? Well, here it is. Detroit is 8-24 on the road. That’s not just a bad record; it is actually the worst in MLB thus far this season.
In May, the Tigers spent 12 of their 28 games away from home, and of those, they lost 10. This makes predicting the outcome of a game pretty easy; you just need to know if they are at home or away.
Compare this to their 14-14 record at home, and it appears that Comerica Park offers some protection for the team.
So, What Now?
The injury report is seemingly offering some good news for the Tigers in the month of June. Skubal continues to set records both on and off the field with his ground-breaking surgery recovery. A return sometime in June is possible if he continues this path.
Verlander is expected to pitch a rehab outing with Triple-A Toledo on June 2. Gleyber Torres is well on his way back to the roster. Kerry Carpenter was activated from the IL, and while it will be later, Jackson Jobe could join the team in August.
If Skubal and Verlander come back healthy and the bullpen can find any kind of stability, the pitching crew could look significantly different in June.
The team needs Torres and Baez back in the lineup as well. Should all of these hypotheticals and hopefully realistic things happen, well then the Tigers will not be out of it entirely.
The AL Central is still within reach with four months left in the season, but things better start happening in the Motor City and in a positive light for the Tigers to have any chance.
Digging out of the hole they have created and put an exclamation point on in May is going to be monumental. Everything needs to start going right, and for a team where nearly everything has gone wrong, well, this is a big order.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Laura Lambert resides in Wiggins, Colo. with her husband, Ricky and two sons, Brayden and Boedy. She attended the University of Northern Colorado while studying economics. She is an accomplished rodeo athlete and barrel horse trainer along with being a life-long sports fan. Over the years, Laura has been active in journalism in a variety of roles. While continuing to cover western sports and country music, she is currently enjoying expanding her reach into multiple sports including MLB, NFL, and WNBA. Laura covers the Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, and Rodeo for On SI. You can reach her at lauralambertmedia@gmail.com