DETROIT — The first half of the Detroit Tigers’ 2026 season was full of discombobulation. The team looked at times terrible and at others terrific. There were injuries and mistakes, brilliant displays of pitching and out-of-nowhere glimpses of potent power.

A.J. Hinch faced the most criticism of his Tigers tenure, and yet Hinch kept his team believing after a dismal May.

Between all that, Justin Verlander announced this season will be his last. The Tigers had an odd parting with third-base coach Joey Cora. Kevin McGonigle emerged as a rookie of uncanny composure. Dillon Dingler blossomed into the best catcher in the sport. The Tigers watched as Tarik Skubal got hurt, then made an unprecedented return.

Who knows, then, what the second half will hold.

Here is a sampling of the biggest Tigers storylines as we return from the All-Star break:

Are the Tigers buyers, sellers or both?

This is the big question. This is what everyone wants to know. The bad news: Finding out the answer will require a bit more patience.

The odds are still against the Tigers being able to mount a run into the postseason. But if they can come out of the All-Star break playing well, they could strengthen their case to keep this team together and make a push. Stranger things have happened.

Regardless of what happens in the next couple of weeks, there is no bigger dilemma than what to do with ace left-hander Tarik Skubal. The Tigers could trade him for multiple pieces that could strengthen their future. They could keep him and stay true to their original mission of pursuing a World Series. Or maybe they could trade Skubal for pieces that could offer immediate help but keep others such as Casey Mize and Gleyber Torres, attempting to play for both now and later.

It’s a tricky position to be in, and that’s one reason the Tigers seem determined to play as much of the schedule as possible before deciding their lane.

There is so much at stake. The Tigers probably still project as sellers, but there is more schedule to play.

How far can the pitching take them?

In the second half last season, an offensive breakdown contributed to an epic divisional collapse. So too did a pitching staff that didn’t have the breadth of quality arms needed to survive. For the second year in a row, the Tigers seemed poised to go as far as their pitching can take them.

Right now, the Tigers are in an ideal position. Their rotation has been firing on all cylinders. Troy Melton is emerging as a force. It’s the bullpen that remains Detroit’s biggest weakness.

The overall 3.85 bullpen ERA entering Sunday is not abysmal. But the Tigers have blown 19 saves, more than any team in the American League. The Win Probably Added from Detroit relievers is -4.57, second worst in the majors. Will Vest is on the injured list with a stress fracture in his arm. Kenley Jansen has a 4.56 ERA. Although there have been nights where the bullpen strung together scoreless innings, Hinch has not been able to phone down to the bullpen with confidence.

For the Tigers to have any hope, they need their starters to continue rattling off quality performances.

And if they’re serious about being anything more than a wild-card team destined for an early exit, the bullpen has to improve, perhaps through acquisitions at the trade deadline.

What kind of offense is this?

In May, the Tigers had a .597 team OPS. That ranked last in MLB.

In June, the Tigers had a .797 OPS. That ranked sixth.

So which version is the real Tigers?

The answer probably lies somewhere in between.

Dingler and McGonigle staged terrific first halves. Riley Greene reached his third straight All-Star game and entered the break with a career-best .842 OPS.

But so many other players have still underperformed. Spencer Torkelson has 16 home runs but is hitting only .208. Zach McKinstry, an All-Star this time last year, has a .197 average. Matt Vierling has struggled to the tune of -1.0 bWAR. Even Kerry Carpenter has not been at his best in terms of all-around performance.

The Tigers hope to get Gleyber Torres back soon. His right-handed presence is always a boost in stability. But the Tigers will need more hitters to pull their weight if they want to play meaningful baseball in September or perhaps later.

It will also be fascinating to see whether the Tigers promote top prospect Max Clark at any point this year. There’s a world where Clark could become part of a compelling playoff push.

There’s another where Clark debuts after the Tigers dismantle their roster and turn an eye toward the future.

The final whistle blew in Santa Clara, Calif., and the stadium erupted. Players embraced and celebrated on the field.

A solid performance turned defiant in the second half of the World Cup’s new round of 32, when the U.S. men’s national team went down to 10 men following the controversial sending-off of Folarin Balogun. The team grew stronger, got a cathartic free-kick goal from Malik Tillman and beat Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2-0 — the first World Cup knockout win for the U.S. men since 2002.

The sold-out crowd began singing a famous rendition of “Country Roads,” with players arm in arm on the field enjoying it. Goalkeeper Matt Freese, who kept a clean sheet in that game, would later point to this as his favorite moment at the World Cup. It shouldn’t be hard to pick out his least favorite.

Merely five days later in Seattle, he and the team were mired in despair, experiencing the highs and lows only sports can conjure all within a rapid, chaotic window.

The U.S. was eliminated by Belgium, 4-1, thoroughly outplayed in the round of 16. But the third Belgian goal — the true back-breaker — came following a Freese error. He raced off his line and out of the U.S. box to track a long ball over the top. While he beat Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere to the ball, he flubbed his left-footed attempt to clear the danger. He reacted by quickly trying to go with his right, but his kick hit off De Ketelaere and right to the waiting feet of Hans Vanaken.

The Belgian midfielder wasted no time pouncing on Freese’s 57th-minute gaffe — which was then compounded by defender Tim Ream whiffing on an attempted block that would have prevented the goal. Instead, Vanaken’s shot bounced casually into the back of the U.S. net, and with that, for all intents and purposes, the Americans’ World Cup came to an end.

Belgium finds a third pic.twitter.com/0m1Hu4qzwR

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 7, 2026

A 2-1 match suddenly turned into a two-goal game after an all-time U.S. blunder at the worst possible time.

“It hurt. It was devastating,” Freese told The Athletic. “In that moment. In the hours and days after that.”

Once the players peeled themselves off the grass after the final whistle, Mauricio Pochettino rounded up the team on the field for one more speech, imploring the group to continue believing in the future. To use this pain as motivation.

“In the moment, it’s hard to even hear, because it means our journey is done,” Freese recalled. “We didn’t want it to end. But that speech is something you look back on in six months when you need motivation. In two years when you’re gearing up for the summer of 2028. You look to the memory of that when it’s 6 a.m. and your alarm clock goes off on a Tuesday when you try to be the first one in the facility.”

The elimination came as a shock. Not that the team lost — there was confidence in the U.S. locker room and among the fanbase as well after an inspiring group stage — but the manner and speed with which the exit transpired. Though the U.S. briefly equalized through a deflected Tillman free kick in the first half and tried to fight coming out of the halftime break before Belgium put the game away, it was clear from the opening whistle who had the upper hand.

Matt Freese is pressured by Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere before committing the gaffe that led to Hans Vanaken’s back-breaking goal (David Ramos / Getty Images)

It was an awful time for the U.S. to produce its worst performance at the World Cup, with a record American audience watching on TV and momentum and optimism seemingly soaring.

“The first thing that comes to mind is how badly I wanted it and how badly we wanted it as a group,” Freese said. “We always said we wanted to win the World Cup. It was not a fake, PR answer. It was genuine.”

Though the loss leaves a sour taste, as time passes by, plenty of positives will be remembered. The group stage and feeling of the fans unifying behind the team was special, Freese said. For the goalkeeper, he’ll keep thinking of those scenes following the Bosnia win and “Country Roads” karaoke.

“I hadn’t really taken in the other wins. The emotions were gratitude and pride,” Freese said. “To play in front of that crowd, to win a game and know there was (over 33 million) people watching that game. In a moment like that, the country is united. To be on the field for that was incredible.”

After confronting his moment of USMNT infamy, Freese returns to action next week. His New York City FC resumes its MLS season next Wednesday in Columbus vs. the Crew before welcoming the Chicago Fire and new signing Robert Lewandowski to Yankee Stadium three days later. From there, both he and Ream, who were at the heart of that blunder vs. Belgium, will take their place as MLS All-Stars in Charlotte on July 29. They’ll be joined there by World Cup teammates Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten. There is life after a colossal mistake. And for Freese, there’s more to remember from this World Cup than the one moment of devastation.

“My hope for this tournament is to not just continue the growth of the game at the same rate, but to spike that growth and catalyze a newfound love for the game in this country,” Freese said. “Seeing jerseys and posters flood the streets of the cities we were in, seeing videos of the same things happening all over the country, those are scenes I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Third one-day international, Bready

Ireland 193 all out (43.1 overs): Lewis 50 (59), Paul 32 (47); Ramharack 3-33

West Indies 257 all out (50 overs): Taylor 105 (113), Alleyne 33 (30); Prendergast 2-37

West Indies won by 64 runs for 3-0 series success

Scorecard

West Indies beat Ireland by 64-runs to complete a comfortable 3-0 one-day international series win in Bready.

The tourists, who claimed victories in the first two games of the series, were made to bat first after losing the toss.

Stafanie Taylor contributed 105 off 113 deliveries for her second century of the series as her side were all out for 257.

Orla Prendergast, Georgina Dempsey and Jane Maguire all claimed two wickets each for Ireland.

Captain Gaby Lewis led Ireland’s chase as she hit 50 off 59 balls, including seven fours and two sixes.

But Lloyd Tennant’s side were dismissed for 193 after 43.1 overs as Karishma Ramharack claimed her third wicket by trapping Aimee Maguire leg before wicket for 13.