The Detroit News contributor Andrew Graham gives his quick takes on the Tigers’ 4-1 loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday:
One thing I loved
At least Burch Smith had a solid weekend pitching in relief for Detroit. He came on and pitched 1.1 innings of shutout ball on Sunday to relieve Jack Flaherty, and struck out a batter.
This comes after he pitched two shutout innings on Friday in a win, coming in amid a difficult spot after Ty Madden’s contusion as a result of a line drive off the forearm and a runner on first base.
Detroit has needed someone, anyone, really, to produce some good innings out of the bullpen before the backend. Drew Anderson looked good on Friday and Smith has looked good again after a similarly strong showing earlier in the weekend.
Smith now has 19 strikeouts in 15.1 innings of work this season with just five earned runs, He’s limited walks, generally, and looked much better in two outings against Toronto than he did the last time he pitched, getting dinged for three runs (one earned) by the Mets.
It’s definitely not anything that’s going to turn the tide of the season for Detroit. And even if it’s clinging to silver linings to be glad a relief pitcher found smooth sailing, it’s some welcome news amid a seeming torrent of bad over the last month for Detroit.
Plus, some reinforcements are hopefully on the way in the bullpen as Will Vest is back on the active roster — right as another pitcher (Madden) heads to the injured list, of course.
One thing I didn’t
It feels like Detroit has been swinging Wiffle bats in May. In 15 games in May entering Sunday, Detroit scored five or more runs three times and had been shut out twice. The Tigers also have four games with one or two runs scored, all losses.
It’s not like things fell off a cliff, as Detroit had a dozen games in April scoring five or more runs, but it’s been especially sparse since the calendar turned. And things were especially quiet for the Tigers on Sunday, as the offense didn’t advance a runner past first base until the bottom of the eighth inning.
Here’s where the Tigers ranked offensively as a team in May, entering Sunday:
Simply, the Tigers’ offense has been a bottom-five unit this month, at the same time the pitching staff has been decimated by injury. And it doesn’t take a baseball savant to put together the simple equation: No pitching plus no hitting equals very few wins.
Detroit was lucky to dodge a shutout on Sunday, by virtue of some eighth-inning traffic and a legged-out fielder’s choice by Jahmai Jones for an RBI.
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
Burch Smith
Dillon Dingler (13)
Jahmai Jones (5)
Player of the game
(Season total in parentheses)
Kevin Gausman — The Tigers’ offense might’ve fallen into an open manhole but he was nails, too
Next Tigers game
Game 48: Guardians at Tigers, 6:40 Monday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1
ICYMI: Yesterday’s Tigers recap
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 47: One thing I loved, one thing I didn’t
Reporting by Andrew Graham, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
