Sometimes in baseball, the story is about the pitchers who couldn't find their groove—and Friday night at Comerica Park was exactly that for the Detroit Tigers.

Right-hander Jack Flaherty continued a troubling trend, failing to complete the fourth inning for the third consecutive start. When a starter can't go deep, the bullpen becomes the unsung hero, and on this night, four relievers answered the call: Enmanuel De Jesus, Brenan Hanifee, Brant Hurter, and Burch Smith. Together, they covered 5⅓ innings, allowing just two hits and one walk—a much-needed bright spot in an otherwise frustrating game.

But baseball is a game of inches, and sometimes, just two swings can change everything. In the eighth inning, back-to-back doubles from Jake Burger and Alejandro Osuna off Smith broke the tie, handing the Tigers a 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers. It was the kind of sequence that leaves you replaying every pitch in your head.

The Tigers (16-17) showed fight, trading runs with the Rangers (16-16) through the first five innings. Texas struck first with four runs in the first and third, but Detroit answered with a four-run rally of their own in the fourth and fifth. The big moment came from Wenceel Pérez, who—after robbing a home run in the first inning—delivered a two-run single with the bases loaded, driving a sinker below the zone into left field. Hao-Yu Lee followed with an RBI single that chased Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore, pumping his fist in celebration.

But the Rangers had the final word. The Tigers will look to bounce back Saturday at 7:15 p.m. on Fox, continuing their six-game homestand under the lights. For a team that's shown grit but needs more consistency, every pitch—and every at-bat—matters.