Detroit – You can’t start a winning streak until you win one.
The Tigers are still searching for the one.
The Cleveland Guardians, who tied the game in the top of the ninth, scored three more runs in the top of the 10th inning off reliever Tyler Holton and beat the Tigers for the third straight night at Comerica Park, 3-2.
The Tigers have lost five straight, 13 of 15 and eight of nine at home. At the 50-game mark, they stand at 10 games under .500 (20-30).
It was another night of abject frustration for the home team, almost a blueprint on how to avoid a victory.
Like in the bottom of the ninth when the Guardians’ gifted the Tigers back-to-back walks to start the inning. Neither runner advanced. Lefty Erik Sabrowski struck out Riley Greene and right-hander Colin Holderman struck out Matt Vierling and pinch-hitter Wenceel Perez.
Like, in a scoreless game, when Hao-Yu Lee tried to stretch a bloop single into a double sixth. No chance.
BOX SCORE: Guardians 3, Tigers 2 (10)
Like when Kenley Jansen walked Chase DeLauter with two outs in the eighth inning and then ignored him, the tying run, to the point where he stole second uncontested.
Like in the bottom of the eighth when the Tigers had two on and nobody out, courtesy of a Guardians error, and Zack McKinstry, arguably the best base runner on the team, got picked off second base.
That last gaffe, and the inability to tack on an extra run or two, came back to bite them when the Guardians rallied to tie the game against Will Vest in the ninth.
They did it in classic Guards-ball style, two. Singled by Daniel Schneemann and Travis Bazzana to start the inning. A sacrifice bunt by Steven Kwan and an RBI ground out by Patrick Bailey,
The Guardians scored quickly in the 10th. A triple by Angel Martinez plated the free runner and a double by Jose Ramirez scored Martinez.
A single by McKinstry in the bottom of the 10th made it one-run game. The Tigers are now 5-11 in one-run games.
The Tigers were shackled by right-hander Tanner Bibee for six innings. A two-out single by Jake Rogers in the third inning was the only base runner, other than Lee’s brief trip around first base.
But in the seventh, the Tigers finally cracked the seal.
Kevin McGonigle led off with a walk and sped to third on a single by Riley Greene. Matt Vierling finished the job with a sacrifice fly to left.
The heavy lifting was done by the Tigers’ pitching staff.
Drew Anderson has never stopped thinking of himself as a starting pitcher. It’s been his identity since he refashioned his career playing four seasons overseas (two in Japan, two in Korea).
But, after signing a $7 million deal with the Tigers, he found himself in a hybrid bullpen role. That was a difficult adjustment, as he freely admitted, but over his last 15.2 innings, he’s gotten the hang of it (four earned runs, 21 strikeouts).
The adjustment back to starter went much more smoothly Wednesday. Pushed into the role after Ty Madden went on the injured list last week (forearm contusion), Anderson subdued the Guardians for 4.2 innings.
He gave up just two singles and struck out a career-high seven. He got fatigued in the fifth, which manifested in a pair of walks. He’d only had one three-ball count in the first four innings.
Effectively mixing his kick-change, slider and curveball off a 95-mph four-seamer, he got 10 whiffs on 27 swings with 11 called strikes.
Impressive performance.
Right-hander Kyle Finnegan, pressed into duty early with the Tigers pressing to break a four-game losing streak, got the final out in the fifth. He got two outs in the sixth, but with two runners on, the managerial wheels started to spin.
Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt used left-handed hitter Travis Bazzana to pinch-hit for David Fry. Tigers’ AJ Hinch countered with lefty Brant Hurter.
Hurter won that confrontation and then pitched a scoreless seventh.
This story will be updated.
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers fail to protect lead in ninth inning, lose to Guardians again
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
