Tigers Find Their Offense But Simon Can't Find Strike Zone In 8-7 Loss
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
A pitching duel it was not.
The Tigers dropped their fifth game in a row, this time 8-7 to the Angels on Tuesday night. They got the offense they'd been waiting for, after Los Angeles' Jered Weaver allowed seven hits, six earned runs and a home run while accumulating more hit batters (two) than strikeouts (one).
The only problem? Detroit's starter didn't fare much better. After putting together his best performance of the season last week (a complete game, one-hit shut-out), Alfredo Simon fell apart against the Angels, going four and 1/3 innings, allowing nine hits, eight earned runs, four walks and a home run, while striking out only two. Three of those earned runs were scored off Simon's three wild pitches.
"Kind of a 180 from the last outing," said Tigers manager Brad Ausmus. "He and Mac (catcher James McCann) were kind of having trouble getting on the same page, which kind of slowed his pace down a little bit."
Simon attributed his poor performance to a lack of rhythm – a far cry from last week, when Ausmus praised the right-hander for his improved pace.
Rhythm was something Detroit had been missing offensively last week in its 3-1 series loss against the Rangers; the Tigers went 18 straight innings without a run. And on a night when they poked holes in Los Angeles' infield left and right, scoring seven, they couldn't keep the Angels from doing the same when they came to bat. It's another instance of Detroit not being able to put it all together on the same night.
Detroit came back from an initial 4-0 hole, and had a chance to rally even further in the bottom of the eighth. The Tigers had climbed to within one run at 8-7 and Miguel Cabrera singled to left field, moving Jose Iglesias to third. Tuesday was the seventh straight game that Cabrera has collected multiple hits, which ties the longest streak of his career.
But Cabrera's streak didn't stop the Tigers' losing streak: Victor Martinez, the next man up, grounded out and left runners stranded on the corners. Visibly frustrated, he slammed his helmet into the ground.
"Very tough, man," Cabrera said, when asked about being in the midst of a five-game losing streak. "You don't want to be in this position, especially when you fight for something. This season's not over. We know what we can do."
Detroit is still in the race for an AL Wild Card spot. As of Tuesday night, the Tigers were five and a half games below the red line. Going on a five-game losing streak (and slipping to seven games under .500 at 59-66) hasn't helped, but the team knows a berth in the postseason is still mathematically possible.
"We're still in this," said Tyler Collins, who went 1-for-5 at the plate on Tuesday. "We're not hesitant whatsoever; we're still trying to go and claim that last spot and get in the playoffs and just show we're here to fight."
