Detroit Tigers score: The Tigers started MLB's second half like they ended the first: With a loss, this time to the Texas Rangers.
ARLINGTON, TX — Tommy Kahnle couldn't miss bats and couldn't throw strikes.
It was a recipe for a bad outing.
The Detroit Tigers were limited to four hits and lost, 2-0, to the Texas Rangers on Friday, July 18, in the opener of a three-game series at Globe Life Field. The Rangers scored both runs off Kahnle, a right-handed reliever, in the eighth inning.
The big damage: Corey Seager crushed Kahnle's two-out changeup for a two-run double.
The Tigers (59-39) have lost five games in a row.
Before the bullpen, the Tigers were shut down by left-hander Patrick Corbin. The 35-year-old completed 5⅔ scoreless innings on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts, throwing 92 pitches.
It was his second time dominating the Tigers.
Corbin has a 1.42 ERA in two starts against the Tigers within the past three months, but in his other 16 starts, he has a 4.27 ERA. In total, he owns a 3.91 ERA in 18 starts in the 2025 season.
Entering 2025, Corbin had a 5.71 ERA in 126 starts from 2021-24 with the Washington Nationals.
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Reese Olson allows 2 hits on 90 pitches
The Rangers threatened to score first in the sixth inning.
Right-hander Reese Olson allowed a leadoff double to Jonah Heim on his 90th pitch – a four-seam fastball. It was just the Rangers' second hit, but the double sent the Tigers to their bullpen, calling on left-handed reliever Tyler Holton.
A sacrifice bunt advanced the runner to third base, but Holton stranded the runner when Seager struck out swinging on an up-and-away sweeper and Marcus Semien flew out to center on a first-pitch cutter.
The three outs from Holton ended the sixth inning.
Olson completed five-plus scoreless innings on two hits and one walk with six strikeouts, throwing 90 pitches. He faced 18 batters, of which 10 worked at least five pitches.
Olson still thrived by generating 13 whiffs on 44 swings for a 29.5% whiff rate, including seven whiffs from changeups and five whiffs from sliders. His four-seam fastball averaged 93.6 mph, down 1.2 mph from his average.
He has a 2.71 ERA in 12 starts.
The ump show
A questionable replay review on Riley Greene's missed catch in left field and a bad call on Javier Báez's tag attempt between first and second base put runners on the corners for the Rangers with one out in the third inning.
But Olson worked out of the jam.
On Greene's play, third-base umpire Carlos Torres determined that the ball hit the turf before the glove, resulting in a single for Kyle Higashioka, but the Tigers immediately challenged. The replay review appeared to show the ball in Greene's glove without hitting the turf, only for the call on the field to be confirmed. On Báez's play, second-base umpire Alfonso Márquez didn't see a tag attempt on Higashioka, so he didn't call the runner out of the baseline. That was followed by Báez throwing the ball away for an error when he rushed the ensuing throw to the first baseman.
The single from Higashioka was the first of two hits for the Rangers against Olson. To end the inning, Olson struck out Seager with a slider at the bottom of the strike zone.
The game remained scoreless.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers losing streak hits 5 with 2-0 loss to Texas Rangers
Category: Baseball
