The Detroit Tigers leaned on pitching and some sloppy Miami defense to get back on track Sunday, shutting out the Marlins 2-0 at LoanDepot Park. The win not only snapped Detroit’s three-game losing streak but also gave the Tigers their 17th shutout of the season, tying Pittsburgh for the major league lead.
The story of the day was José Urquidy, who made his return to the mound after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery in June 2024. The 30-year-old right-hander, who signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Detroit this spring, entered in the sixth inning in relief of starter Keider Montero and immediately worked out of a jam. Urquidy allowed a two-out single to Agustín Ramírez but escaped without damage.
He came back for the seventh and gave up a leadoff single to Eric Wagaman before yielding to Tommy Kahnle. In all, Urquidy threw 25 pitches, averaged 93 mph on his fastball, and recorded four outs — a promising return after a long road back.
Kahnle delivered in the game’s tightest spot, inheriting two baserunners with one out in the seventh. The veteran reliever retired Victor Mesa Jr. on a flyout and then got Javier Sanoja on a groundout to preserve Detroit’s slim lead. Kahnle worked 1 2/3 innings before Wil Vest came on for a four-out save, his 21st in 27 chances.
Vest faced trouble in the ninth after a single and a walk put two men on with one out. He steadied himself, retiring Joey Wiener on a flyout before freezing Sanoja on back-to-back fastballs at the outside corner to end the game.
The Tigers scored their only runs in bizarre fashion during the second inning, capitalizing on three Marlins errors on a single play. With Spencer Torkelson on first, Colt Keith grounded to first baseman Wagaman, who misplayed the ball for the first error. Second baseman Máximo Acosta tracked it down in foul territory but threw wildly past third for another error. Left fielder Troy Johnston then misplayed the ball near the fence, letting it skip through his legs for Miami’s third error.
Keith advanced all the way to third and later scored on Dillon Dingler’s RBI single. That was all the offense Detroit needed.
Montero (5-3) gave Detroit five strong innings, scattering three hits in his longest outing since July 7. Miami’s Adam Mazur (0-4) was the hard-luck loser, allowing just one hit and two unearned runs over six innings while retiring his final 11 batters.
Despite being outhit 7-4, the Tigers made their chances count and relied on their bullpen to carry them across the finish line.
The AL Central-leading Tigers (closing in on their first division crown since 2014) open a home series Tuesday against Cleveland. Casey Mize (14-5, 3.83 ERA) will face Joey Cantillo (5-3, 3.36).
The Marlins head west to start a series in Colorado, where Eury Pérez (6-5, 4.67) will match up with Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland (4-15, 4.97).
