Shushkewich: Cerkownyk put down proper fingers in Tigers Complex no-no

Former Mississauga North Tigers C Brady Cerkownyk (Etobicoke, Ont.) caught a no-hitter for the rookie-class Tigers in the Florida Complex League. He was a 15th round pick of Detroit in 2023, receiving a $397,500 signing bonus.

June 24, 2025

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

History was made in the backfields of the Philadelphia Phillies’ spring training grounds on the weekend.

Tigers catcher Brady Cerkownyk was posing for post-game pictures after the seven-inning affair was in the books as his Detroit Tigers no-hit the Phillies in a Florida Complex League game.

What started as a hot and muggy afternoon contest turned into a seven-inning combined no-hitter for the Tigers, with Cerkownyk (Etobicoke, Ont.) behind the plate. Pitchers Kelvis Salcedo and Bryce Alewine were doiminant, with Salcedo logging five innings before Alewine came in to finish the outing.

The Phillies were kept out of the hit column and off the scoreboard while the Tigers produced five runs. A walk in the first to Francisco Loreto ended the perfect game bid, but the no-hitter remained intact the rest of the way. Salcedo logged 52 pitches while Alewine added 11 more, with Cerkownyk behind the plate to catch the whole game.

Cerkownyk helped out his pitchers, going 2-for-3, producing a line-drive single to left field in the second inning and following up with a single to left again in the fourth.

Drafted by the Tigers in the 15th round in 2023, Cerkownyk is back on the diamond after missing all of 2024 with an elbow injury. Through 13 games this season, he owns a .211/.318/.289 slash line with a .607 OPS.

The former Mississauga North Tiger has contributed eight hits, including one home run, eight RBIs, and has eight walks on the season. Behind the plate, he’s thrown out 27.3% of attempted base stealers. He also has seen time as a DH in six more games.

It was an impressive day for Cerkownyk and the Tigers staff, as the Phillies had one of their top prospects in Griffin Burkholder (No. 8) in the lineup. He struck out twice, as the Phillies fanned eight times, six of which were swinging.

The Tiger staff walked three, but two were erased via a quick ground ball double plays. The Phils did not have a batter reach second base and left one man on base.