What the Detroit Tigers were hoping would be a very big week in Ohio is off to a very slow start.
With the surprising Tigers’ biggest series of the season coming up this weekend Stephen Hauschka Jersey , they’re not getting much time to turn things around.
The
Tigers brought a five-game winning streak and plenty of confidence into
a week that’s beginning with two games against the last-place Reds in
Cincinnati and ending with three against the first-place Indians in
Cleveland. They started out the week 2 1/2 games behind the Indians in
the AL Central, and were talking openly of leaving Cleveland with the
division lead on Sunday night.
But they’re now four games
back following the Indians’ home-field wins over the Chicago White Sox
on successive nights and the Tigers’ 9-5 loss to the Reds on Tuesday
night. The Tigers let their game get away from them in a hurry after
Joey Votto hit a grand slam in the third inning off Detroit starter
Matthew Boyd (4-5).
The Tigers put up the kind of
late-inning outburst that often wins games — a five-run ninth inning,
against Reds reliever Wandy Peralta — but the trouble was they were down
9-0 when the inning began. Reds starter Sal Romano (4-7) shut them out
on four hits over seven innings and now has allowed only one run over 15
innings in his last two starts.
“This wasn’t a good game
for us,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “The other guy was throwing
the ball well. … It wasn’t one of our better nights. You walk a few
people (six), give up a few hits and (have) some long innings, and there
you have it.”
Now, the Tigers don’t have much time to
bounce back as they face an afternoon game Wednesday in Great American
Ball Park, with right-hander Michael Fulmer (3-5, 4.13 ERA) going up
against the Reds’ best pitcher of late in Tyler Mahle (5-6, 3.96). The
Reds right-hander has permitted only two earned runs over 16 1/3 innings
in his last three starts.
“Detroit, you look at their
record, they’re getting after it every night,” said Reds interim manager
Jim Riggleman, whose team has won five of seven. “Ron Gardenhire’s got
them playing hard and you’d better play the whole nine. They’re going to
come after you.”
Neither pitcher in Wednesday’s game has faced the opposing team before.
Boyd
hadn’t seen the Reds before, either, but Cincinnati made quick work of
him, chasing him after getting five runs, six hits and three walks off
him while he labored through four innings, throwing 80 pitches .
Some
of the Reds’ low-average hitters did the most damage against Boyd and a
Tigers bullpen that was almost flawless during the winning streak.
Billy Hamilton, batting .203, went 2-for-4 with a home run and Adam
Duvall, batting .196 Rod Brind'Amour Jersey , was 3-for-4. Tucker Barnhart also was 3-for-3 as the Reds collected 13 hits.
Detroit
wasted a big night at the plate by leadoff hitter Leonys Martin, who
went 3-for-3 with a double and walked twice while reaching base five
times.
Mahle got off to a rough start this season, losing
six of his first nine decisions, but he pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings
against the Kansas City Royals in a 7-0 win last Wednesday and five
shutout innings against the San Diego Padres on June 1. In between, he
gave up two runs to the Rockies in five innings on June 7.
“It’s
nice to put a couple (of no-run outings) close together like that,”
Mahle told reporters after beating the Royals. “I was able to put some
zeros up there and our team is always going to be able to score at some
point.”
Fulmer is coming off a strong start, beating the
Minnesota Twins 3-1 on Thursday while giving up only one run on five
hits over seven innings. The win was Fulmer’s first at Comerica Park in
nearly a year, or since July 15.
Jackie Bradley Jr. drove
in two runs, Eduardo Rodriguez struck out six in six innings and the
Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Nationals 3-0 on Wednesday to
complete a three-game sweep.
Rodriguez (10-3) allowed
three hits and walked one. Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth for his 26th
save in 28 chances, finishing a six-hitter.
The Nationals
(42-43) have lost five in a row to fall below .500 this late in the
season for the first time since being 60-61 on Aug. 21, 2015. The
preseason NL East favorites held a players-only meeting after the game.
A
throwing error by Adam Eaton on Bradley’s sacrifice fly and a wild
pitch by Ryan Madson (2-4) in the seventh inning contributed to
Washington’s 17th loss in 22 games.
Nationals starter
Erick Fedde left one batter into the second inning with right shoulder
stiffness. Manager Davey Martinez said Fedde was scheduled to have an
MRI.
YANKEES 6, BRAVES 2
NEW YORK (AP) –
Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer and CC Sabathia pitched six
effective innings, leading the Yankees to the victory.
Yankees
rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres left in the fifth inning because
of tightness in his right hip and was placed on the 10-day disabled list
with a right hip strain.
Aaron Judge and Kyle Higashioka
also homered for New York. Higashioka became the ninth player since 1920
whose first three hits were home runs.
Sabathia (6-3) yielded two runs and five hits.
Atlanta
starter Julio Teheran (6-6) lasted just five innings, allowing five
runs and five hits. He struck out 10 and walked four.
CARDINALS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 4
PHOENIX
(AP) – Yadier Molina and Yairo Munoz homered, Miles Mikolas threw six
strong innings and St. Louis broke loose late to beat Arizona and take
two of three from the first-place Diamondbacks.
Molina’s
three-run shot on the first pitch from reliever Fernando Salas
highlighted a five-run seventh inning after Arizona had nursed a 2-1
lead through six. Tommy Pham drove in three Cardinals runs with a double
and two singles.
The Diamondbacks dropped to 1-5 on their homestand and lead the surging Dodgers by just a half-game in the NL West.
Mikolas (9-3) gave up two runs, seven hits and four walks.
Arizona
reliever Yoshihisa Hirano (2-1) had his franchise-record streak of 26
games without allowing a run end when Munoz homered on the first pitch
of the seventh. Hirano gave up four runs, one earned, on three hits in
two-thirds of an inning for his first loss since coming to the major
leagues from Japan this season.
ASTROS 5, RANGERS 4, 10 INNINGS
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Evan Gattis drove in Jose Altuve with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning Authentic DaeSean Hamilton Jersey , sending AL West-leading Houston to the road win.
Altuve
stopped a 0-for-13 slide with a one-out single in the 10th. Chris
Martin (1-2) then hit Yuli Gurriel with a pitch before an errant pickoff
throw allowed both runners to move up. Gattis followed with a fly ball
to right-center.
Gurriel homered, doubled and scored twice
as the Astros overcame an early four-run deficit. Collin McHugh (4-0)
pitched three scoreless innings, and Ken Giles got three outs for his
12th save.
Texas’ Shin-Soo Choo homered and singled to
extend his on-base streak to 44 games, the longest in his career and in
the majors this season.
DODGERS 6, PIRATES 4
LOS
ANGELES (AP) – Rich Hill earned his first win in three months, Yasmani
Grandal and Chris Taylor drove in three runs apiece, and the Dodgers
swept the Pirates for the second straight year.
The Dodgers outscored the Pirates 31-8 in the three-game series while winning their fourth in a row overall.
Hill
(2-3) allowed two runs in five innings for his first victory since
April 1. Kenley Jansen earned a five-out save, his 23rd of the season.
Gregory
Polanco hit a two-run homer for Pittsburgh. Clay Holmes (0-1) was
charged with four runs in 2 1/3 innings in his first major league start.
CUBS 5, TIGERS 2
CHICAGO
(AP) – Javier Baez stole home, Willson Contreras hit a tiebreaking
homer and the Cubs earned their sixth straight victory.
Conditions
at Wrigley Field favored the long ball, with a game-time temperature of
92 degrees, a heat index of 102 and the wind blowing out.
David
Bote also connected for Chicago. Jose Quintana (7-6) pitched six
effective innings in his first win since May 31, and Brandon Morrow got
three outs for his 19th save.
Nicholas Castellanos and
John Hicks went deep for Detroit, which has dropped 13 of 15. Francisco
Liriano (3-5) permitted three runs in six innings.
ATHLETICS 4, PADRES 2
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Stephen Piscotty doubled three times and drove in three runs, powering Oakland to the win.
Khris Davis added an RBI single for the A’s, who have won 14 of 17 to move a season-high nine games over .500.
Lou Trivino (7-1) retired two batters for the win. Blake Treinen pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.
Christian Villanueva hit his 17th home run for San Diego. Jose Castillo (1-2) got the loss.
PHILLIES 4, ORIOLES 1
PHILADELPHIA
(AP) – Aaron Nola stuck out nine in seven innings, Nick Williams hit a
two-run homer and the Phillies beat the Orioles to sweep a two-game
interleague series.
Nola (11-2) gave up one run and seven
hits to win his fifth straight decision. Victor Arano tossed two innings
for his first career save.
Philadelphia pulled within 1
1/2 games of NL East-leading Atlanta and improved 10 games over .500 for
the first time since finishing the 2011 season with a franchise-record
102 wins.
Orioles right-hander Yefry Ramirez (0-2) gave up two runs – one earned – and one hit in five innings.