The unofficial first half of the season wraps up with a three-game series in Detroit. For whatever reason, recent Phillies teams haven’t done well in “getaway” games, so I’m worried that they might just try to coast through what is somewhat of a “getaway” series. I’m especially pessimistic about Sunday’s game when about half the roster will be looking ahead to All-Star festivities while facing one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Opposition research: Matt Vierling
When the Phillies traded Matt Vierling (along with Nick Maton and Donny
Sands) to the Tigers in exchange for Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens, it seemed like a sensible trade. Soto was a lefthanded reliever with two All-Star appearances under his belt, and thanks to the 2022 trade for Brandon Marsh, Vierling was mostly limited to a bench role. (As for the others, Maton never amounted to much, while Clemens had his moments.)
However, Soto could never find consistency in Philadelphia, while Vierling established himself as a solid, if unspectacular everyday player for the Tigers. Ironically, the Phillies spent years searching for a righthanded platoon complement for Marsh, and Vierling seemed like he would have been a good fit for that role.
The last two seasons have not been kind to Vierling. He spent most of 2025 on the Injured List with a variety of ailments and was limited to 31 ineffective games. He’s been healthier in 2026, but the on-field results have been bad. He’s batting just .199 with five home runs, and his once solid defense in the outfield has gone downhill.
The Phillies could still use another right-handed hitting outfielder, and Vierling is likely very available for a low price. But based on recent performance, it doesn’t seem like he’d be any sort of upgrade on what they already have.
Based on the reactions of Tigers fans, if Vierling was to be traded, they wouldn’t miss him.
Hating on the Tigers
Since their last World Series win in 1984, the Tigers have made it to the Fall Classic twice, winning a grand total of one game across those series. And it sure doesn’t look like that drought is going to end in 2026.
The Phillies’ roster is top heavy (a few stars are carrying an overall subpar roster), but at least those stars have the team in playoff position. The Tigers have three All-Star position players to go along with one of the better starting rotations in the AL, and they’re still seven games under .500.
This comes after a season when they lost 13 of their 16 final games to blow a 10 game lead in the AL Central. (Yes, they still made the playoffs and even won a series, but who cares? That’s still embarrassing.)
The Tigers are likely to trade ace Tarik Skubal because they don’t think they can retain him when he hits free agency in a year. It seems funny that they’d be stingy with Skubal after handing Miguel Cabrera a lifetime achievement contract over a decade ago. (I’d advise Phillies fans not to look at the last few years of Cabrera’s career if you don’t want to have nightmares about the tail end of the Harper/Turner/Schwarber era.)
On the positive side, their mascot, Paws, is the second best mascot in baseball.
Trivia
Last week’s answer: In game six of the 1980 World Series, Pete Rose had three hits. EbbyCalvinLaLoosh answered correctly.
This week’s question: The first Phillies vs. Tigers game in history was a 7-2 Detroit win at Tiger Stadium. What former first round draft pick took the loss in that game?
Additional thought about the series
Even with Zack Wheeler on the mound, I have almost no hope for the Phillies winning on Sunday. As mentioned, this team often seems to play poorly in the final game of road trips. Add in the fact that this is the final game before the All-Star Game in Philadelphia, and that lowers their chances even more. And finally, they’ll be facing Skubal, which means I’d put their over under on runs scored in the game at one.
Prove me wrong, Phillies. Prove me wrong!
