Detroit News

The Detroit News Fans will no longer have to wear face masks while outdoors at Comerica Park, starting with Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. The Detroit Tigers announced the rule change on Friday, citing new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear face

Detroit — It must’ve felt like getting a new, shiny toy for Christmas and then having someone tell you not to play with it. Tigers rookie Tarik Skubal went to Driveline Baseball in Kent, Washington, this winter and in the span of two days learned and added a split-fingered fastball to his repertoire. He’d been searching

Detroit — There’s still miles to go, mind you. But sweeping the Kansas City Royals and winning four straight games is a solid step toward stability, if not full recovery. The Tigers took that step with a 4-3 win on Thursday, extending the reeling Royals’ losing streak to 11 in the process. “It’s just such a different

Detroit — Niko Goodrum led off the eighth inning Wednesday night with a walk. The Tigers, who had blown a seven-run lead the night before, were clinging to a skinny two-run margin and an add-on run would look mighty favorable. Goodrum was eyeing second base with bad intent. On the mound, though, was Royals’ hard-throwing right-hander

Joe Reedy |  Associated Press ESPN could be rewarded with additional playoff games under its new deal with Major League Baseball. Walt Disney Company and MLB announced a seven-year extension of their rights agreement Thursday. ESPN has aired games since 1990 and the new deal means that will continue until at least 2028. “This agreement solidifies

Detroit — It remains the elephant in the room, and as rookie Casey Mize continues to mature right before our eyes, posting three straight quality starts, its presence seems to be growing. Nobody wants to talk about it but at some point, load management is going to be an issue for him. He’s already matched the

Detroit – Casey Mize had just induced a clutch 5-4-3 double-play ball from Royals slugger Jorge Soler and he was one out away from completing the sixth inning and holding a two-run lead. He noticed lefty Daniel Norris was warm and ready for left-handed hitting Andrew Benintendi, who was strolling up to the plate. Then

Detroit — The Tigers had to reshuffle the deck at the catcher position Wednesday, and the fallout could mean a significant opportunity for Livonia resident and Dearborn Divine Child product Eric Haase. “He’s never gotten at-bats at the major league level that his minor league track record has warranted,” manager AJ Hinch said before the

The Tigers on Wednesday released pitcher Franklin Perez, one of the prospects acquired in the 2017 trade of Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros. The move was one of several made by Detroit, which also placed catcher Grayson Greiner on the injured list, and called up catcher Eric Haase (Dearborn Divine Child) from Triple-A Toledo.

Detroit — It really doesn’t matter how you win. There’s no deductions or asterisks for blown leads, no bonus points for style and comfort. “We played good enough to win this game,” Robbie Grossman said. “I did not want to go home on the other side of this.” Grossman made the Tigers’ collapse in the

Detroit — The Tigers were up 7-0 going into the top of the eighth inning against a Royals team that had lost eight straight. And they did not secure the win. Not until Robbie Grossman lined a two-out, two-strike single to right field in the bottom of the ninth to give the Tigers a harder-than-it-should’ve

Janie McCauley  |  Associated Press Oakland, Calif. — Major League Baseball instructed the Athletics to explore relocation options as the team tries to secure a new waterfront ballpark it hopes will keep the club in Oakland long-term. MLB released a statement Tuesday expressing its longtime determination that the current Coliseum site is “not a viable option

Associated Press St. Petersburg, Fla. — New York Yankees third-base coach Phil Nevin is away from the team after a positive COVID-19 test. New York announced the positive test for Nevin, who is fully vaccinated, about two hours before the scheduled first pitch Tuesday night at Tampa Bay. Nevin, the former Tiger who also managed Detroit’s

Detroit — Tigers manager AJ Hinch didn’t even wait for the questions to be asked before the game Tuesday. He delivered the news right out of the gate. ► Right-handed pitcher Franklin Perez, one of three prospects the Tigers got back from Houston for Justin Verlander in 2017, is scheduled to have season-ending shoulder surgery in

Detroit — He held up pretty good for the first 12 minutes or so, but then came the question about his time in Detroit and he lost it. Jordan Zimmermann, in a Zoom conference Tuesday with reporters from his three big-league stops (Washington, Detroit and Milwaukee), announced his retirement from baseball after 13 seasons in the big

Steve Megargee |  Associated Press Milwaukee — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher and former Detroit Tiger Jordan Zimmermann retired Tuesday in his 13th season in the majors, ending a career in which he threw the first no-hitter in Washington Nationals’ history and earned two All-Star selections. Zimmermann posted a career record of 95-91 with a 4.07 ERA. He was an

Editor’s note: This is the 11th in a weekly series of stories in which Detroit News freelance writer Lynn Henning will rank the top prospects in July’s MLB Draft. There’s a particularly ominous draft-day scenario the Tigers could face in July as they prepare to pick third from the land’s best college and prep talents. It

Detroit — Can we take just a few minutes here to appreciate what Robbie Grossman is doing at the plate so far this season? Baseball fans around here haven’t seen much of this in, well, maybe never. On a team that strikes out more than any other (29.6%), chases pitches out of the strike zone more

It’s painful at times, hopeful at times. The Watch is on and the watch is ticking, and practically every swing by Miguel Cabrera elicits some sort of sentiment or statement. When he strikes out or endures a 0-for-27 slump, fans wonder if the end is near. When he smacks the ball and draws walks as

Is there a more pleasing tribute to an everyday baseball player than that label long-stitched to the jersey of Bryant Packard? “He’s a pure hitter.” That has been his reputation, before and after he played at East Carolina, just as it has been in the short, COVID-interrupted time he has been with the Tigers since