Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson lead Tigers in 4-4 tie vs Blue Jays

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Mar 1, 2026 - 21:25

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Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson lead Tigers in 4-4 tie vs Blue Jays

LAKELAND, FL – The Detroit Tigers tied the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-4, on Sunday, March 1, at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Detroit is 2-5 in Grapefruit League play.

What happened

Left-hander Tarik Skubal allowed two runs in three innings, but the Tigers picked him up with two runs against right-handed reliever Tommy Nance in the fourth inning.

Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson delivered the key hits.

Kerry Carpenter and Gleyber Torres sparked the inning back-to-back singles, then Greene pushed a down-and-in sinker for an RBI double and Spencer Torkelson pulled a down-and-away slider for an RBI single. Both hits went into left field.

Riley and Tork tie it up! pic.twitter.com/dkXDZTsVqR— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) March 1, 2026

Right-hander Grant Rogers, a 24-year-old who had a 4.07 ERA in Double-A last season, started for the Blue Jays – and he was perfect against the best hitters from the Tigers.

Rogers retired all nine batters he faced, striking out Carpenter, Torres and Kevin McGonigle.

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Starting off

Left-hander Tarik Skubal allowed two runs on four hits and one walk with one strikeout across three innings.

He threw 28 of 44 pitches for strikes.

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slides to first in front of Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, Feb. 25, 2026, in Lakeland, Florida.

The reigning two-time American League Cy Young winner kept the Blue Jays from scoring in the first and second innings, but he couldn't stop them in the third inning.

A leadoff walk from Rafael Lantigua set the table for the Blue Jays in the third, then Sean Keys jumped a first-pitch fastball to put two runners in scoring position with a double.

Jonatan Clase cashed in.

He smoked an changeup above the strike zone into the gap in left-center field, with the ball deflecting off the glove of a sliding Javier Báez in center field and rolling to the wall.

It put the Blue Jays ahead, 2-0.

For his 44 pitches, Skubal threw 19 fastballs, 12 changeups, seven sinkers, five sliders and one curveball. He generated four whiffs on 23 swings (17.4% whiff rate) with two fastballs, one sinker and one slider.

His fastball averaged 96.7 mph, but Skubal struggled to command his changeup.

At the plate

Aside from the two-run fourth inning, the Tigers were shut down by a flurry of minor league pitchers from the Blue Jays – until the eighth inning, when Austin Slater and Eduardo Valencia drove in runs.

It was an RBI single for Slater and a sacrifice fly for Valencia to tie the game, 4-4, against right-handed reliever Alex Amalfi. The two-run eighth began with a one-out walk from Corey Julks.

All eyes remained on the top prospect.

McGonigle finished 0-for-2 with one strikeout, but he showcased smooth actions at shortstop with Skubal on the mound, including an unassisted double play in the first inning and a double play in partnership with Torres in the second inning.

The 21-year-old is hitting .400 with a 1.138 OPS in seven spring games. The 2023 first-round pick is the consensus No. 2 prospect in baseball, with a chance to make the 2026 Opening Day roster.

Carpenter and Torres had two strikeouts apiece.

On the mound

After Skubal, the Tigers turned to their three best relievers over the next three innings: right-hander Kenley Jansen, right-hander Kyle Finnegan and right-hander Will Vest.

It was Jansen's first game of spring training.

Both Jansen and Finnegan sent down all three batters, with Jansen striking out Arjun Nimmala with a slider for the final out in the fourth and Finnegan striking out Keys with a fastball for the final out in the fifth.

For Jansen, he threw nine cutters, two sliders and one sinker for his 12-pitch inning. His cutter averaged 91.6 mph (down 1.2 mph from last year's velocity) and generated just one whiff on five swings.

Meanwhile, Finnegan threw five splitters, five fastballs and one slider for his 11-pitch inning. His fastball averaged 95.8 mph, down only 0.5 mph from last year's velocity.

Vest allowed two runs in the sixth inning, recording three outs in his second spring game. He also allowed three runs – logging just two outs – in his first game of the spring.

His velocity remains down, but it's still early in spring.