Tigers Rally Late Behind Liranzo’s Three-Run Blast, Settle for 4-4 Tie with Blue Jays

Tigers Rally Late Behind Liranzo’s Three-Run Blast, Settle for 4-4 Tie with Blue Jays

The Tigers’ first split-squad afternoon saw Detroit taking on Toronto in Lakeland. Ernie Clement drove in two of the Jays four runs by almost completed a cycle with a double, triple and a single before getting pinched hit.

Detroit erased a three-run deficit in the sixth inning, highlighted by Thayron Liranzo’s go-ahead three-run home run, before settling for a 4-4 tie. 

Early innings belong to the arms

Casey Mize opened the afternoon and worked through early traffic, benefiting from sharp infield defense behind him. Kevin McGonigle and Hao-Yu Lee teamed up for multiple double plays, including a clean turn in the second inning that erased a potential scoring threat. Mize finished the day allowing one hit over two innings of work with a strikeout and a pair of walks. 

The Tigers offense, however, struggled to find a rhythm early. Detroit managed only a handful of baserunners through the first three innings, with Parker Meadows and McGonigle both striking out in their first trips to the plate.

Toronto finally broke through in the fourth inning against the Detroit bullpen. Kazuma Okamoto opened the frame with a double, and a sequence of singles — combined with a wild pitch — helped the Blue Jays build a 3-0 lead. The Tigers committed two errors on the day. 

Substitutions change the energy

As expected in spring action, the middle innings brought wholesale changes for both clubs.

The Tigers prospects injected life into the lineup in the sixth. Max Clark entered as a pinch-runner, Josue Briceño delivered a single, and Corey Julks followed with an RBI knock that trimmed the deficit to two.

Moments later, Liranzo delivered the loudest swing of the day.

The young catcher turned on a pitch and sent it over the right-field wall for a three-run homer, flipping the scoreboard and giving Detroit a 4-3 advantage.

Liranzo for the lead! 💣 pic.twitter.com/JF0xkTYOT2

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) February 25, 2026

The inning reflected exactly what spring training is designed to showcase — prospects getting opportunities and capitalizing.

Bullpen flashes and late drama

Tyler Holton provided a steady bridge inning, while Tyler Mattison showed swing-and-miss stuff by striking out the side in the seventh. He finished with five swings and misses on the day. 

Detroit appeared poised to finish off the comeback, but the ninth inning brought chaos. A fielding error and a throwing mistake allowed Toronto to tie the game at 4–4, erasing the Tigers’ late lead.

The Tigers threatened in the bottom half after John Peck singled and stole second, but the rally stalled with a strikeout to end the game.

Takeaways

Spring results rarely matter, but several individual performances stood out:

• Thayron Liranzo: Three-run homer showcased his raw power potential.
• Josue Briceño: Solid contact but still working out the kinks at first, with a fielding error.
• Tyler Mattison: Clean inning with three strikeouts, one of the sharper bullpen outings of the day.
• Middle infield reps: McGonigle and Hao-Yu Lee flashed chemistry turning double plays early.
• John Peck continues to rake with a pair of hits. The 16th ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was drafted in the seventh round in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Detroit looks to pick up their first win of the spring by heading to Sarasota to take on Baltimore as Keider Montero takes the mound for the second time this spring. First pitch is 1:05pm.

Tigers Notes: Right-hander Troy Melton has not pitched yet this spring and there was a reason. According to manager A.J. Hinch, just general arm soreness and the Tigers just want to play it conservative. 

Follow me on "X" @rogcastbaseball