Casey Mize quiets Tigers' No. 2 postseason starter fears with bounce back vs. Mets

The Tigers still maintain the second-best record in the American League and are just one game behind the Blue Jays for the No. 1 seed in the postseason, but they've been leaning on all of the wins they banked in the middle of August. Through their series finale against the Mets on Wednesday, they've lost seven of their last 10 with two series losses.

With a postseason appearance pretty much inevitable, it's been hard not to dissect every part of the roster. But fans don't have to look very hard to identify the Tigers' biggest weakness: starting pitching.

Tarik Skubal, unsurprisingly, is not a concern, but Casey Mize, Jack Flaherty, Chris Paddack, and Charlie Morton had a combined 5.58 ERA in August, and Paddack was just moved to the bullpen as a result of his struggles.

Mize, Flaherty, and Morton haven't looked like the Nos. 2-4 starters any team would want in October, and last year's strategy of "Tarik Skubal and pitching chaos" didn't get the Tigers through the ALDS.

However, Mize gave Tigers fans a little more hope on Wednesday, when he pitched a solid five innings against the Mets and kept them to just one run in a game the Tigers went on to win 6-2.

Casey Mize's effective bounce back start vs. Mets was a positive sign for Tigers' postseason hopes

Through early July, 2025 looked like it was going to be the perfect comeback year for Mize, a former first overall pick who was written off years ago after a lot of injuries and poor performance. He earned the first All-Star nod of his career for his work in the first half. However, things soured after his first July start and he continued to struggle in August. His ERA inflated from 2.63 through July 5 to 3.95 through Aug. 27.

On Wednesday, he gave up just one run on five hits and no walks. He only threw 69 pitches, so it's a little surprising that AJ Hinch decided to pull him at that point.

Flaherty and Morton will continue to be concerns, but if at least half of the postseason rotation can be counted upon to make solid starts in October, the bullpen can do more of their heavy lifting behind the rest. It's not total redemption and Mize still needs to end the season strong, but it's a positive step and a good sign for fans who might've been (justifiably) catastrophizing about how the rotation might look next month.