Pittsburgh Pirates at Detroit Tigers: Final Score & Recap

The Detroit Tigers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 on September 25, 2026, at Comerica Park in a game that saw the DiamondIQ model's estimate of a Detroit win climb from an even 50 percent pre-game to a certainty of 100 percent by the final out. Detroit built its advantage early, with Spencer Torkelson delivering a triple off Bubba Chandler in the second inning that added 13.2 percent to Detroit's win probability, helping the Tigers scratch out a 2-2 tie through two frames. The third inning proved decisive for the home side, as Dillon Dingler's single off Chandler swung the win probability by 16.4 percent in Detroit's favor, part of a four-run explosion that gave the Tigers a commanding cushion. Even a strikeout by Torkelson to end the third, which contributed 12.5 percent in win probability by limiting further Pittsburgh damage, reflected how thoroughly Detroit controlled that stretch of the game.

Pittsburgh mounted its most serious threat in the top of the eighth, when Rafael Flores Jr. launched a home run off Andrew Sears that shifted win probability by 21.6 percent toward the Pirates, pulling them to within one run and briefly reigniting the contest. However, Kenley Jansen answered in the ninth, finishing off Pittsburgh and generating 15.2 percent in win probability added as Jake Mangum grounded out to end the game, a play that cost Pittsburgh 7.1 percent from their perspective. Among the standout performers, Torkelson finished as the game's most impactful batter with a combined 27.0 percent in win probability added and a RE24 of plus-4.9, while Flores Jr. led Pittsburgh with 18.8 percent WPA despite the team's defeat. Dingler contributed 12.0 percent WPA to complement Detroit's winning effort, and Jackson Jobe and Evan Sisk provided additional pitching support behind Jansen's closing performance.