Red-hot Tigers hit the road to face Blue Jays for Rivalry Weekend

The Detroit Tigers aim to extend their three-game winning streak and enhance their American League-best record when they visit the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.

The Tigers will be on a high after two straight walk-off wins to cap their three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox. The AL Central leaders had Thursday off before heading Toronto for this Rivalry Weekend showdown.

Toronto, meanwhile, opened a nine-game homestand by dropping two of three to the Tampa Bay Rays. That included an 8-3 loss Thursday afternoon.

The Blue Jays continue to struggle when tasked with climbing over the .500 mark. Thursday’s result means they have lost when sitting at 12-12, 16-16, 20-20 and 21-21 — and now they must face a 29-15 Detroit team that gets contributions from a wide variety of players.

The latest to rise to the occasion was Justyn-Henry Malloy, who delivered a walk-off single as a pinch hitter in Wednesday’s 6-5 win.

“There’s a feeling of momentum,” Malloy said. “There’s a feeling of wanting to contribute. And you know you have a role.”

“We don’t care who the hero is,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.

Hinch has done a good job of maximizing the franchise’s 40-man roster, not just the 26 on the major league team.

“We, as an organization, have committed to bringing up guys,” Hinch said. “If they can help us win one game, then we are going to use our roster. We are going to use our players. We’re going to put guys in a position to win that day’s game.”

The Tigers made a move before their game on Wednesday, optioning third baseman Jace Jung to Triple-A Toledo due to his .111 batting average and slugging percentage and recalling outfielder Akil Baddoo.

“(Baddoo is) here because we think he can help us win,” Hinch said. “That is all we’re going to ask of him, to contribute something positive.”

The Tigers are scheduled to start right-hander Jack Flaherty (1-5, 4.61 ERA) on Friday. Flaherty is 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA in four career starts against the Blue Jays.

Toronto is expected to start right-hander Bowden Francis (2-5, 5.40), who pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings against Detroit in 2023.

The Blue Jays had the roof open at the Rogers Centre for the first time this season on Thursday. There were seven home runs hit, three by the Blue Jays.

Toronto has hit 19 home runs already in May after hitting 15 for all of April.

“I feel like we’ve been talking about that for about three weeks, how home runs are going to come,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “It seemed like the ball was traveling pretty well with the roof open today. That’s a huge boost for us.”

Schneider was not about to attribute Thursday’s power surge to the open-air setting, however. They were all well-struck.

“Roof open or closed, I think all those balls are gone,” Schneider said.

Toronto’s homers came from Addison Barger, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Nathan Lukes.

While Blue Jay hitters have gained momentum, the pitchers have experienced some struggles of late. They allowed 20 earned runs in three games against the Rays.

Kevin Gausman allowed three of Tampa Bay’s four homers on Thursday in yielding six runs and 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings.

“You need to have a good offense to win games,” Gausman said. “But I think we are only as good as our pitchers.”

–Field Level Media