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Detroit Tigers' Casey Mize is Game 2 starter for wild-card series; Jack Flaherty in Game 3
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- Detroit Tigers' Casey Mize is Game 2 starter for wild-card series; Jack Flaherty in Game 3
CLEVELAND — Left-hander Tarik Skubal is starting Game 1 of the American League wild-card series in the MLB playoffs on Tuesday, Sept. 30, against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
After that?
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The Tigers will start right-hander Casey Mize on Wednesday in Game 2, followed by right-hander Jack Flaherty on Thursday in Game 3. The wild card is a best-of-three series, so the winner could be decided after two games.
The Tigers chose Mize over Flaherty.
"It means a lot," Mize said before Tuesday's game. "When you have your team trusting in you, your manager trusting in you, that's always a great feeling as a competitor and as a teammate."
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Casey Mize of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 9, 2025 in New York City.
In 2025, Mize — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft — registered a 3.87 ERA with 36 walks (5.7% walk rate) and 139 strikeouts (22.2% strikeout rate) across 149 innings in 28 starts. The 28-year-old received an All-Star selection for the first time in his five-year MLB career.
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Nearly one year ago, Mize learned he wouldn't be on the roster for the 2024 ALDS against the Guardians during a conversation with manager A.J. Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter in the bullpen at Progressive Field.
A lot changed in 360 days.
"When I look back on it, I was told I wasn't going to be on the roster here," Mize said. "It was really tough, but it fueled a lot of my offseason work and some of the things that I wanted to do to get better to never let that happen again. To have this opportunity a year later in this place is pretty cool for me, just to see that full circle."
ROSTER READY: Tigers playoff roster set for MLB wild-card series vs. Guardians
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Meanwhile, Flaherty logged a 4.64 ERA with 59 walks (8.7% walk rate) and 188 strikeouts (27.6% strikeout rate) across 161 innings in 31 starts. The 29-year-old became the highest-paid pitcher in the Tigers' organization after winning the 2024 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers .
Flaherty has been the Tigers' most inconsistent starter in 2025.
"Both he and Jack were prepared to start from a bullpen standpoint and a workload standpoint to be ready for the game," Hinch said before Tuesday's game, "and now, we can adjust Jack's work a little bit."
Both players have familiarity with the Guardians.
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Flaherty has clashed with the Guardians in each of his past two starts, whereas Mize has matched up with the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox since his last start against the Guardians.
Facing the Guardians, Mize owns a 2.08 ERA over 17⅓ innings in three starts and Flaherty has a 3.94 ERA over 16 innings in three starts — all in the 2025 season.
Mize fired 6⅓ innings of two-run ball in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. He didn't walk any batters, recorded eight strikeouts and needed just 80 pitches to get 19 outs.
"The fastball was legit," Hinch said. "The split was there. His breaking ball was there. He was in complete control. When we had started that game, our season was still undecided. There was a lot going into that start, and he stepped up."
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That's how Mize earned the Game 2 start.
"It was good to see him be able to stay in the moment," Hinch said, "and just be himself and be the pitcher that we know he can be and that he has been throughout the majority of this season. He has thrown the ball as well as he has at any point of the season right now, which is the perfect time."
Both pitchers are lined up to start in the wild-card series, but the Tigers prioritized Mize over Flaherty for Game 2.
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Mize has never pitched in the postseason, but Flaherty has appeared in 10 games (nine starts) during his postseason career, turning in a 5.36 ERA over 47 innings.
In 2024, Flaherty had a 7.36 ERA throughout the Dodgers' postseason run.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Casey Mize is Game 2 starter vs Guardians in wild card
