Tigers pitching implodes, again, and the offense is shut down, again
The Detroit Tigers have been pretty rough as of late. Losers of 9 of their last 10 games, their offense and pitching have been suspect since before the All-Star game. In the most recent series, the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates swept them on the road, leaving the fanbase screaming Into the Void.
How would the team respond to coming home to the confines of Comerica Park? They started by making some Changes, particularly DFA’ing Carlos Hernandez and picking up the contract of reliever Geoff Hartlieb from Toledo.
The Toronto Blue Jays popped into town for the first game of a four-game series. The Canadian franchise has come on of late, forcing their way to the top of the AL East using an outstanding offense. For the first time in a while, the Jays are Flying High Again.
Reese Olson started for Detroit. When he hasn’t been on the IL, he’s pitched pretty well for the team. Would he be an Iron Man today? He got a groundout, a popout, then ended the inning with a brutal strikeout of Vlad Guerrero Jr. that had the guy looking like he was Snowblind.
The Tigers’ offense had struggled mightily, so it was a pleasant surprise when Jahmai Jones smoked a ball to left center field that kept on carrying like it had hitched a ride on a Crazy Train. 1-0 Tigers on the big fly. Torkleson and Greene were retired, but the Tigers had struck first.
Olson got all three batters to line/fly out in his half of the 2nd, continuing his early dominance.
Dillon Dingler hit a two-out double, but nothing came of it. Still, they were getting hits off of Blue Jays starter Eric Lauer, though they continued to swing really early in counts, resulting in plenty of routine contact despite the minimal strikeouts.
With two outs, Toronto’s Patient Number 9 hitter, Will Wagner, singled. Reese was able to buckle down and induce an easy groundout to move things along.
The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 3rd. The game was flying by, which was good because there was a nasty thunderstorm moving across Michigan that threatened to delay or end the game if it got to the park; we want Thunder Underground, not lightning in the sky.
Guerrero Jr. singled in the 4th, but Olson was able to induce a few more flyouts to keep him from scoring. Reese was pitching like a Miracle Man.
After a Tork groundout, Riley Greene laced a single to get on. It’s good to see him hitting a lefty. Unfortunately, Matt Vierling struck out and Wenceel Perez lined out. The team was getting hits, but Time After Time, nothing was coming of them.
Ernie Clement singled to start the top of the 5th. Did Reese care? Not particularly, as he struck out the next two batters before inducing an inning-ending flyout.
Lauer had settled in for the Jays, retiring the side as well. Felt like today’s pitching was Breakin’ All the Rules.
Olson threw a filthy swingback fastball to strike out Nathan Lukes, but then walked his first hitter in the game in George Springer. That would immediately come back to bite him, as Guerrero Jr. doubled down the left field line, tying the game as Springer thought “Mama, I’m Coming Home”.
A broken-bat grounder advanced him to third with two outs. The Tigers walked the lefty-hitting Barger to get to the lighter-hitting second baseman, Clement. He made them pay for it, smashing a ball over the left field fence for a three-run bomb. As a fan, I am So Tired of this recent run of game-breaking mistakes.
To make it worse, he then gave up a solo home run (back-to-back jacks) to Joey Loperfido. Losing his composure, Reese then hit Tyler Heineman with a pitch. AJ finally went out to pull him. It’s crazy that Olson was fully in control through 5 1⁄3 innings, but then imploded. Makes you want to Bark at the Moon. Dietrich Enns came in and got the final out, but the air was deflated.
The Tigers, needing an answer, went meekly in the bottom of the frame. Lauer had retired 8 batters in a row. The game was starting to taste like a Rat Salad (not great, Bob).
The Jays weren’t finished abusing mid-game pitching. Enns started to get hit hard in the 7th, giving up a double which scored on a one-out single. Then there was an infield single to put two on. Just to mix things up, he allowed a Barger triple to score two more runs.
A deep flyout scored another run as a sac fly before Enns finally got the third out. It was suddenly 9-1, Jays, and everyone was Paranoid that this team was self-destructing.
Lauer continued his dominance, not allowing a baserunner in the 7th. The offense was on the Road to Nowhere.
Trey Sweeney came in to play shortstop, and Geoff Hartlieb took the mound for the Tigers in the 8th. With one out and a runner on, Hartlieb allowed a missile of a home run to Lukes. 11-1 Jays.
You’re No Different than all the other middling pitching of late, Hartlieb. Immediately after the homer, Springer hit a double. A flyout advanced him to third, but Bo Bichette mercifully grounded out to end the abuse.
Lauer came back out for the bottom of the 8th. He gave up a bloop single to Dingler, got Keith to line out, gave up another bloop single to Baez, struck out Sweeney, and struck out Jones. Pain. I Don’t Want To Change the World, but I’d love to change this current losing streak of just the worst baseball from what had been an amazing team.
With a 10-run deficit, Jake Rogers flexed his mustache and came on to pitch for the Tigers. He got the first two outs before allowing two singles. With the Jays threatening again, the Sheriff got a pop-up to end his outing. He ended the game as the only pitcher to not allow a run. Baseball is romantic, but this game was a Goodbye to Romance.
Righty Chad Green came in to close out the game quickly. It did not go as planned for the Jays. Tork showed some 9th inning power, leading off the inning with a solo Tork Bomb. Riley Greene dropped in a bloop single that was a classic example of how one issue spreads, as he would’ve tried to take second a month ago.
Instead, he was busy yelling at himself and only ended up on first. Vierling singled him to third and a Perez groundout scored Riley and advanced Vierling. Keith hit a grounder that got through the infield, scoring another run. While there was still a huge deficit, the sign of life was certainly welcomed. A popout and strikeout ended the game, however.
Final Score: Toronto 11, Detroit 4. The teams return to Comerica Park tomorrow for the second game in the series.
Rest in Peace, Ozzy Osbourne.