Some losses are very difficult to explain. This was not one of them. Don’t get me wrong, this was a very winnable game for the Tigers, and I would argue that had they played the kind of fundamental baseball that we’ve seen them play over the last week and a half, today would’ve been a win instead of a loss. Still, the reasons why this thing went sideways are very explainable.
I bring it up all the time. When this team is at its most fundamental, they are at its best. They’re throwing strikes, getting outs, and making basic plays defensively. That was not on display today. Jack Flaherty was a disaster, walking six without even making it through four innings. This is becoming a legitimate problem. Jack cannot find his arm slot right now, and his command is taking a serious hit because of it. Don’t let the two unearned runs fool you. That was a massive step back for a guy who had two consecutive good starts.
The pitching staff as a whole was ineffective today. I’m not particularly worried about Tyler Holton. He’s always been a finesse guy, and the Red Sox lucked out with some weakly hit singles in those later innings, but that’s the difference today. Detroit had opportunities to tack on when they took a 3–2 lead, and they weren’t able to do it. They had their 7, 8, and 9 guys up with runners at first and third and nobody out, and they didn’t put a single ball in play. Those are the moments that doom this team.
Outside of maybe one big game here and there, the Tigers have won over the last week or so, not by scoring a ton of runs, but by taking advantage of the opportunities when they’re there. You don’t have to put a ton of runs on the board for Tarik Skubal or Framber Valdez. Those guys will take care of business. They just need the offense to do enough, and despite putting three runs on the board today, you couldn’t help but feel like they left a lot on the table. They still ended up battling until the very end. Sadly, the human victory cigar for the opposing team, Drew Anderson, ultimately put this game out of reach.
As frustrating as this game was, I don’t necessarily come away concerned. There were no injuries, and it was pretty clear from the jump that this was going to be a strange ball game. Detroit will return home tomorrow for a three-game series against the Brewers. Keider Montero will take the mound against lefty Kyle Harrison.