Detroit Tigers fall, 6-1, to Texas Rangers in first home series loss of 2025 season
For the first time in 2025, the Detroit Tigers lost a home series at Comerica Park.
The final two games weren't competitive.
The Tigers lost, 6-1, to the Texas Rangers in the May 11 rubber match at Comerica Park, following an uncharacteristic 10-3 loss in the second game of the series. In the third game, the Tigers were shut out by right-hander Nathan Eovaldi before scoring their only run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
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Eovaldi limited the Tigers to two hits in seven innings.
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Texas Rangers right fielder Adolis Garcia (53) steals second base successfully after the throw to Detroit Tigers shortstop Zach McKinstry (39) gets into center field in the third inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
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The Tigers (26-15) have lost just four series all season, with the first three occurring on the road against the Dodgers in Los Angeles (March 27-29), the Brewers in Milwaukee (April 14-16) and the Astros in Houston (April 28-29).
The good news: The Tigers still have the best record in the American League.
The Rangers were led by Eovaldi, a well-known postseason hero who twirled seven scoreless innings on two hits and one walk with seven strikeouts, throwing 95 pitches. He evenly mixed his splitter, curveball, cuter and fastball.
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Eovaldi has a 1.78 ERA through nine starts.
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The Tigers had just three baserunners against Eovaldi: Riley Greene doubled in the second inning, Kerry Carpenter walked in the third inning, and Spencer Torkelson singled in the fourth inning.
The best scoring opportunity vs. Eovaldi occurred in the second inning, but after Greene's leadoff double that clanked off the fence in left-center field, three batters in a row —Torkelson, Zach McKinstry and Dillon Dingler — grounded out to strand Greene at third.
Right-hander Reese Olson lasted just four innings.
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The 25-year-old allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches. He needed 35 pitches to complete the second inning.
That's when the Rangers started scoring.
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Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Reese Olson (45) throws a pitch against the Texas Rangers in the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
In the second, Marcus Semien tagged a middle-middle slider — the first pitch of the plate appearance — for a two-run home run to left-center.
It was bad pitch execution.
The Rangers had the bases loaded and two outs in the 35-pitch inning after two singles and one walk, threatening to score more runs. But Olson wiggled out of further damage when Wyatt Langford lined out sharply to left field.
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Evan Carter increased the Rangers' lead to 3-0 in the third inning with an RBI single.
Olson, who has a 3.38 ERA in nine starts, struggled to generate swings and misses, recording just eight misses on 36 swings for a 22.2% whiff rate. Coming into the start, Olson ranked in the 91st percentile among MLB pitchers with a 33.5% whiff rate.
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The Rangers kept hitting.
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This time, the Tigers' bullpen got beat up.
Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung (6) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers in the fifth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
Josh Jung — the older bother of Tigers third baseman Jace Jung — smoked a middle-middle sinker from right-handed reliever Beau Brieske for a two-run home run to left-center field in the fifth inning. The homer put the Rangers ahead, 5-0.
Jonah Heim made it 6-0 in the eighth inning when he poked left-handed reliever Brant Hurter's two-strike sweeper for a solo home run.
The Rangers finished with six runs on 12 hits and two walks.
Meanwhile, the Tigers produced one run on four hits and two walks, facing Eovaldi, right-handed reliever Chris Martin, left-handed reliever Jacob Latz and left-handed reliever Robert Garcia. Torkelson delivered a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, but it was too little, too late.
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Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers fall, 6-1, to Texas Rangers for home series loss
