Tigers offense breaks out in rain-shortened victory over Cardinals

Chris McCosky, The Detroit News on Apr 4, 2026

Published in Baseball

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DETROIT — This game, with 12 walks and six hit-batsmen and a ninth-inning rain delay, isn't going win any prizes for baseball aesthetics. But the Tigers don't care about style points.

Any W is a good W.

Two-run home runs by Kerry Carpenter and Zach McKinstry helped build a 7-0 lead and the Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals for the second straight day, 11-6, at Comerica Park, in a game that was called with one out in the top of the ninth because of rain.

All the runs took the burden off Tigers starter Jack Flaherty, who, despite the big lead, never was able to lock in his command. He walked four and hit three, a feat no Tigers pitcher had done since 1925.

Flaherty walked and hit a batter in three different innings. Through four innings, he was able to win enough key battles to keep the Cardinals at bay.

But he paid the toll in the fifth. Going through the Cardinals’ lineup a third time, he hit J.J. Wetherhold and walked Ivan Herrera to start the inning and gave up an RBI double to Alec Burleson.

After he walked Nolan Gorman to load the bases, manager AJ Hinch brought in right-hander Drew Anderson.

Jordan Walker cleared the bases, unloading on a 1-0 four-seamer up and in. The ball flew 459 feet, banging it off the bricks beyond the visitors’ bullpen near Al Kaline’s No. 6 marker. The grand slam cut the Tigers’ lead to one in a hurry.

But that ended up being the Cardinals’ last push.

The Tigers stretched the lead to two in the sixth. Riley Greene worked a two-out walk off lefty reliever Justin Bruihl. Right-handed Dillon Dingler followed with a walk off right-handed reliever Matt Svanson.

He was initially called out on a 2-2 pitch by home plate umpire Nate Tomlinson. Dingler quickly challenged the call, which the video showed to be .4 inches off the plate. Dingler walked on the next pitch.

That set the table for McKinstry, who lined a single to right to score Greene.

Gleyber Torres, whose single in the first inning scored Colt Keith from first base (thanks to a misplay by center fielder Victor Scott II), led off the seventh with his first home run of the season, an opposite-field drive that just eluded right fielder Walker’s leaping attempt.

Matt Vierling capped the scoring with a two-run, opposite-field homer in the rain in the bottom of the eighth.

Vierling entered the game as a pinch hitter for Keith in the fourth inning. Keith singled in his first two at-bats, but with a runner at third and a lefty on the mound, Hinch summoned Vierling, who plated the seventh run of the game with a sacrifice fly.

A four-homer day after the Tigers came into the game with just two home runs, both by Dingler.

The Tigers' bullpen shut the door with Brant Hurter (sixth), Will Vest (seventh) and Tyler Holton (eighth) pitching scoreless innings. Kenley Jansen began the ninth and with one out and one on, umpire crew chief Mark Wegner called for the tarp.

The game, which was already official, did not resume.