Tigers 3, Blue Jays 2: Tork walks it off

Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson (20) runs off the field after out on second base against Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, May 1, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Tigers came home from New York with their tails between their legs, hoping their fortunes would change with some home-cooking. An unexpected bullpen game (of sorts) with finally some strong pitching, a key stolen base and a well-placed line drive gave the Tigers a 3-2 victory in the opener of a three-game weekend series against a former division rival.

Brenan Hanifee was the opener; he didn’t make the big-league team out of Spring Training this year, which was a little strange. He’s been a solid part of the Tigers’ bullpen the past two years, and especially in 2024 when he was sensational down the stretch. But, as the saying goes, “relievers are fungible,” so they can be great one year and lousy the next.

The plan was for Ty Madden to be the Bulk Guy; he’s done that twice so far this season, and in his previous outing he started the third and finished the game. Kinda seems backwards to me. The Blue Jays started highly-regarded rookie Trey Yesavage.

It seems weird to still think of him as a rookie, given how valuable a pitcher he was for the Jays in their World Series run last year, but the fact remains that tonight was his seventh major-league regular-season start. He gets a lot of attention in Toronto sports media, and rightly-so: he was a first-round draft pick in 2024, rocketed through the minor leagues in 2025, and had a mostly-sensational post-season too. He has an exaggerated over-the-top pitching motion that causes a ton of vertical break on his fastball.