Tigers' near no-hitter vs Orioles emphasizes deeper look into 2025 pitching plan

The second half of the Detroit Tigers' season has been a series of unlikely events, the latest of which happened Friday against the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park.

A quartet of pitchers – Beau Brieske, Brant Hurter, Brenan Hanifee and Tyler Holton – combined to face 29 batters over nine innings and allow just one hit in Friday's 1-0 win, a no-hit bid that was broken up by Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson with two outs in the ninth inning.

Brieske faced four batters as an opener, Hurter faced 18 as a bulk reliever, and Hanifee and Holton faced three and four batters, respectively, as traditional relievers. While MLB clubs typically only resort to "bullpen games" like this one out of necessity, it's become the norm for the Tigers in a season plagued by injuries to their starting rotation.

Tigers' near no-hitter vs Orioles emphasizes deeper look into 2025 pitching plan

Detroit's starting rotation has only recently increased from two pitchers to three, with Casey Mize returning from the injured list at the beginning of the month. That still puts the Tigers at least two starters short of a traditional MLB rotation, prompting doubters to question whether Detroit made a mistake in dealing Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline.

However, even without Flaherty (or any other true starters, for that matter), the Tigers' pitching staff has been among the best in baseball in all notable categories during August and September. In fact, pitching is part of the reason the Tigers find themselves in an unlikely playoff push, just 2.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League with 16 games to go.

Detroit's surprising success on the mound this season gives fans plenty to be excited about – not only for a potential playoff push, but more importantly, for 2025. Next season, the Tigers will have Mize, a healthy Reese Olson and a 2024 AL Cy Young Award favorite in Tarik Skubal. They'll also have Keider Montero, who is enjoying a breakout season after being thrust into a starter role due to injuries. Eventually, they'll get help from baseball's top pitching prospect in Jackson Jobe, and they will have the opportunity to sign at least one free agent this offseason.

In the meantime, the Tigers' patchwork pitching strategy appears to be working, and Friday's near no-hitter is just the latest example. And if the Tigers can manage to stay competitive now, imagine how good they'll be with a healthy, robust pitching staff.

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