With Tigers' season on the line, Beau Brieske flashed 99.5 mph — he just keeps impressing

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Detroit Tigers right-handed reliever Beau Brieske reached back and threw a 99.5 mph four-seam fastball to the arm side. He painted the heater on the down-and-away corner to generate a swinging strikeout.

It was the fastest pitch of his MLB career.

"That was probably one of my better pellets ever, for sure," Brieske said.

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The near-100 mph fastball from Brieske — whose fastball averages 95.9 mph — struck out MJ Melendez swinging for the first out in the eighth inning of Monday's series opener against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, a key moment in the Tigers' 7-6 win .

The Tigers came back from down four runs in the victory, thanks to big hits from several players, but a slew of relievers were the unsung heroes, keeping the Royals from scoring in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

Brieske did his job in the eighth.

"They've been doing it for us all year," Colt Keith , who hit a two-run home run in Monday's fifth inning, said of the relievers in the bullpen. "I think we're really strong there. If we keep that going, we're gotta win some more games."

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The Royals, though, didn't make it easy.

A leadoff single from Michael Massey — who represented the game-tying run — and a four-pitch walk from Hunter Renfroe put runners on first and second against Brieske.

Brieske fell behind in the count to Melendez with a first-pitch fastball for a ball, but he threw fastballs for three of his next four pitches: 94.6 mph (swinging strike), 98.4 mph (foul) and 99.5 mph (swinging strike). Each fastball increased in velocity, concluding with the fastest fastball of his career.

His previous career high was 99.2 mph against the Cleveland Guardians on July 29, 2024. Before that, it was 98.9 mph against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 4, 2023.

"I made an adjustment with my hand placement to get the carry back, just staying behind it," Brieske said before Tuesday's game, discussing his four-seam fastball. "Middle-finger dominant, I'm cutting it. Pointer-finger dominant, it's running away from me. When everything is synced up and it's coming off both fingers at the same time, that's when you get the ones that you can stick."

After the strikeout, Brieske induced an inning-ending double play against speedster Maikel Garcia .

For the double play, Keith flipped to shortstop Zach McKinstry , who touched second base and made a running throw to first baseman Spencer Torkelson , who corralled the ball on a bounce.

"We all held our breath on the double play," manager A.J. Hinch said after Monday's win. "We couldn't celebrate too quickly because we couldn't quite see how that play developed. ... When it was completed, the dugout went crazy, but we had to complete the play. Those are huge outs."

Brieske unleashed his emotions.

"It was the most fired up I've seen him in a while," Torkelson said.

"That was the biggest pick of the year," Brieske said of Torkelson. "It was a tough hop."

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That's what happened in the eighth inning of Monday's game.

In Tuesday's game, Brieske struck out the side in the seventh inning — Bobby Witt Jr. (called strike, 97.7 mph sinker), Salvador Perez (swinging strike, 88.6 mph changeup) and Massey (called strike, 99.1 mph fastball) — to keep the score tied at 1-1, which led to the Tigers' 3-1 win in extra innings.

"He's pitching with a lot of confidence," Hinch said after Tuesday's win. "His stuff is plus-plus. He's coming in with a little bit of emotion in the dugout, which I love. These guys are all-in."

Brieske also stepped up for the Tigers in Friday's 1-0 win and Saturday's 4-2 loss against the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park, becoming the first Tigers pitcher to start back-to-back games since George Uhle in August 1929.

He tossed a scoreless inning in each of those games as the opener against a flurry of left-handed hitters at the top of the Orioles' lineup, eventually giving way to a bulk reliever.

"Honestly, I have put all the trust in the catchers," Brieske said after Saturday's game. "The way that they game plan, the way that they read hitters, the way that they read swings, the flow of the game. They call the game, and we try to execute the pitches to the best of our ability."

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Brieske, who owns a 3.77 ERA in 59⅔ innings in his third MLB season, has issued too many walks in September, but he hasn't allowed an earned run since late August.

His last four outings, including two starts, have been impressive against postseason teams — the Orioles and the Royals — as the red-hot Tigers continue their quest for the third and final wild-card spot in the American League.

"The way that we have been approaching it is knowing that if we play our game, if we play to our capability, then we can go out there and compete with any team," Brieske said. "That gives you a lot of confidence, knowing that we're probably going to have to take down some teams that are slotted into the playoff picture right now to get in, and we've done it up until this point."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: With Tigers' season on the line, Beau Brieske flashed 99.5 mph — he just keeps impressing