2 overreactions (and 1 truth) to the start of the Tigers’ 2025 season

The Tigers got the short end of the stick when it was revealed that they'd open their 2025 season against the reigning World Series champion Dodgers. There was a thrilling pitchers matchup at the heart of Opening Day — Blake Snell versus Tarik Skubal — but the Tigers' offense frankly doesn't hold a candle to the Dodgers'.

Detroit lost 5-4 and did put up a more admirable fight than most would've perhaps expected, but the Dodgers' ruthless efficiency and power was on full display; their five runs all came on the long ball. There were a couple of glaring issues with the way the Tigers played that they'll need to address through the season, but there was also one major silver lining.

2 overreactions to the start of the Tigers’ 2025 season

Issues with runners in scoring position could be a death knell

The Tigers went 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position against the Dodgers on Thursday. Their first two runs came as a result of bases-loaded situations, but neither on actual hits — Snell threw a wild pitch to Ryan Kreidler that allowed Spencer Torkelson to score in the fourth, and Manuel Margot drove Gleyber Torres in on a sac fly in the fifth. Kreidler promptly struck out to end that inning and strand runners on second and third, and Colt Keith killed the momentum with a groundout after Margot's RBI.

Detroit picked up two more hits and five more walks than LA, but situational, timely hitting was basically nonexistent. It improved on Friday, but we can't say 2-for-9 is exactly "good." It was a problem that plagued them during the ALDS last year too, when they were an astounding 4-for-42 with RISP. If they can't work up to hitting better under pressure, then they could have a huge issue through the rest of the season.

Gleyber Torres looks pretty bad on defense

Torres was a perfectly respectable offseason signing for the Tigers and looked more than decent at the plate in his Tigers debut — he had two singles and stole a base — but there was a notable slip-up (literally, he slipped while trying to go after a grounder that flew by him into the grass) at second base that wouldn't surprise Yankees fans at all. Since 2019, his defense took a sharp downturn and he led AL second basemen in errors in 2023 and 2024 with 15 and 18.

Having a second baseman that prone to making errors, paired with a shortstop who led the NL (overall, not just among shortstops) in errors in 2021 and did so again the AL in 2022 and 2023, doesn't exactly make for a reassuring double-play partnership. The Tigers moved Colt Keith to first, a position he's never played professionally to accommodate Torres, but if the errors at second continue, the Tigers may have to shuffle again.

1 truth Tigers fans can get behind to begin the 2025 season

Spencer Torkelson had the most promising start to his season the Tigers could've asked for

Torkelson, a righty, was in the lineup to face lefty Blake Snell, getting the tap for DH over Kerry Carpenter, who has terrible splits against lefty pitchers. It was his moment to make an impression on the club and prove that his spring training wasn't just a flash in the pan, and he delivered. He walked in his first three at-bats, homered in his fourth, and walked again in his fifth, becoming the first player to ever do so on Opening Day. On Friday, he went 2-for-5.

Of course, the Tigers are still going to tread lightly with Torkelson and will probably favor Carpenter until Torkelson can prove that he can do this consistently, but it was the perfect statement for him to make in his first game back, after almost not making the roster at all.