The News’ Tony Paul gives his quick takes on the Tigers’ 9-8 loss to the Reds on Friday:
One thing I loved
A lot of baseball purists hate it, batters swinging at a 3-0 pitch. I almost always love it. You’re rarely going to get a better pitch to hit, and Javier Báez took advantage by sending a middle-middle, 91-mph fastball from Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott into the seats in right-center field to lead off the third inning.
It was the second homer on a 3-0 pitch of Báez’s career, the other also being at Great American Ball Park, in 2020.
Báez’s second homer of the year, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead, was the Tigers’ first hit on a 3-0 pitch in 2026. The first four players to put balls in play on a 3-0 count made an out, including rookie Kevin McGonigle, who popped out on 3-0 during an 8-6 loss at Minnesota on April 8.
Astute X (formerly Twitter) followers will remember I didn’t like that 3-0 swing by McGonigle, but it’s all about the situation. In that case, there were two on and one out in the eighth inning of a game the Tigers trailed (and eventually lost), 8-6. In that case, the risk wasn’t quite worth the reward late in a tight game where it could’ve been bases loaded with one out and Gleyber Torres coming up. In Báez’s case Friday, leading off an inning early in a game the Tigers already were leading, it was worth a shot to give the team a spark. It’s a read-the-room thing.
By the way, the Tigers only put balls in play 10 times on 3-0 counts all of 2025. (They were 5-for-10.) They’re already halfway to that total in 2026, just one-sixth of the way through the season.
BAH GAWD THAT’S JAVEER BAZE MUSIC pic.twitter.com/t9tEjEJ5nw
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 24, 2026
Báez’s homer was one of eight in the game Friday night at Great American Band Box, err, Ball Park — four for each, including the two-out, two-run walk-off by Cincinnati’s Nathaniel Lowe in the bottom of the ninth inning off Detroit closer Kenley Jansen to make a long and wet evening a miserable one, too, for the Tigers.
One thing I didn’t
Tigers pitchers walked six. Two of those were issued to former Tigers prospect Dane Myers, and both were followed by two-run home runs by the next batter, Matt McLain.
McLain, amazingly, came into the game with no home runs and four RBIs in 25 games. On Friday, he had two home runs and four RBIs on just two swings, in the fifth (off Framber Valdez) and seventh (Will Vest) innings.
Valdez issued five walks, his most in his first six starts with the Tigers, leading to his shortest stint with the Tigers. He threw 89 pitches, just 47 for strikes in 4⅓ innings. His five walks were one off his career high. It was the 16th time in 172 major-league starts that Valdez has walked at least five in a game (12 with five, four with six).
Valdez now has 14 walks in 34⅓ innings this season, the first of his three-year, $115-million contract.
THIS. TEAM. DOES. NOT. QUIT. #ATOBTTRpic.twitter.com/eIXuFAKIsW
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 25, 2026
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
▶ Spencer Torkelson (3)
▶ Riley Greene (3)
▶ Drew Anderson
Player of the game
▶ Kerry Carpenter
Y’ALL WERE SAYING? pic.twitter.com/Lpk9AcQ2mQ
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 25, 2026
Next Tigers game
▶ Game 28: Tigers at Reds, 7:15 Saturday, Fox, 97.1
ICYMI: Yesterday’s Tigers recap
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers recap, Game 27: One thing I loved, one thing I didn’t