Tigers Stunned By 'Heartbreaking' Loss, Elimination From Playoffs
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
COMERICA PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Exactly one week earlier, the Detroit Tigers had clinched the American League Central Division, and when they gathered in their clubhouse, they donned goggles, sprayed champagne and beer, and shouted and danced to "Turn Down For What."
Sunday, a pall loomed over that same space, and only the muted sounds of hugs and handshakes broke the silence. With the season done, the Tigers swept out of the American League Division Series by the Baltimore Orioles, players said their goodbyes. They do not know who will be back next season and who will be moving on.
"Today stinks," closer Joe Nathan said. "Today's awful. I've been through a lot of these. It's not even fun when you don't make the postseason. These days always stink because you've been with these guys now for eight months and now you're potentially saying goodbye to someone and may not see him ever again, so it's a weird day. Sad day. Kind of just shocked because tomorrow you wake up and you're so used to having a schedule and something to do, and tomorrow you'll wake up and go, 'Wait, I got nothing to do. What am I supposed to do with myself today?'"
The Tigers labor under high expectations every season, but trading for starting pitcher David Price at the deadline vaulted that narrative to a new level. With Detroit armed with a trio of Cy Young Award winners, many people felt it safe to pencil the Tigers into the American League Championship Series right then and there. Obviously, the season did not turn out that way.
"I'm very surprised," outfielder Torii Hunter said. "I always say what you did during the season, whether you had a 1.00 ERA or hit .330 or 40 homers, it doesn't matter. Once you get in the postseason, the slate is wiped clean, and these guys, we beat them during the season, but in the postseason they were a totally different team. They came, they were angry, they came to fight. They've got lefties over there throwing 98. It was a battle with those guys, and they were the better team, so good luck to those guys."
Bullpen breakdowns contributed to the losses Thursday and Friday, but Sunday, the Tigers simply did not get enough hits. They trailed, 2-0, going into the bottom of the ninth inning. Nathan had thrown a 1-2-3 top of the ninth to keep the game within reach.
Catcher Alex Avila, who was taken out of the game because of a concussion, sighed when he recalled the final comeback opportunity, which he had watched from the trainer's room.
"That was exciting," Avila said. "I thought, when J.D. [Martinez] hit that double, I'm like, 'Oh, we got this. We can push that next run across, at least tie the game and see what happens in extras.' That was a great push. That was a great push by our guys."
Even though the Tigers came into Sunday's game on the brink of elimination, they still felt confident, just like always. Accordingly, they felt a sense of shock when the final out occurred, closing the book on the 2014 season.
"Any time that it does happen and you lose that final game, it's definitely much more difficult to deal with than maybe some people would think, because even though we were down 2-0, all of us expected for us to win this game," Avila said, "and when you don't, it's heartbreaking."
