I think I speak for all of Detroit when say this one thing: We are all sick and tired of Cleveland.
You have done enough damage to our sports teams. Now, I don’t want to be rude to our neighbors along Lake Erie. So, I want to say this politely: Please get the heck out of here and go back home.
Pretty please?
First, the Cleveland Cavaliers embarrassed the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday, May 17, punching the Pistons in the nose and then stomping on their hearts.
Just about 24 hours later, the Guardians came to Comerica Park and pummeled the Detroit Tigers, 8-2, on Monday.
Enough already!
Now, let me be clear – the Cavaliers beat the Pistons. They deserved to win and proved to be the better team in the clutch.
And the Guardians – clearly the better team right now – demolished the Tigers in improving to 27-22 while staying atop the American League Central, a full 6½ games ahead of the last-place Tigers (20-28), who share the cellar with the Kansas City Royals.
“We know the division runs through Cleveland as much as we want to say otherwise,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters before the game. “They’ve done it, and so we have to take that personally and overcome them in order to get where we want to get to. That’s the brutal truth. I don’t want to bow down to them. I don’t want to celebrate their wins, but they put them up there. So, when you look at this series, which feels late into the season to see them for the first time, I see an opportunity to stand up for ourselves and continue to push against them.”
That was the plan anyway.
But it certainly didn’t work.
The only pushing was the Guardians shoving the Tigers’ backs even harder against the wall.
Tigers won’t win if they can’t score
You can’t blame all of this game on the Tigers’ injuries.
Left-hander Framber Valdez, the Tigers’ ace with Tarik Skubal on the IL, was yanked after five innings, giving up four runs off five hits. That forced the Tigers to go to their bullpen, and then it got truly ugly. The Guardians exploded for three runs off Brant Hurter, who struggled to throw strikes, and the blowout was capped by a José Ramírez homer off Enmanuel De Jesus in the ninth inning.
Regardless of the pitching problems, the Tigers couldn’t hang with Cleveland.
Because the Tigers are in a serious offensive funk.
“If we’re just getting frustrated now, then we’re late,” Hinch said before the loss. “Where we’re at, we’re gonna have to stay together, work together, and really dig ourselves out of this one step at a time. But I worried about frustration a long time ago, this has been a grind for a lot of these guys.”
At least, everybody not named Riley Greene. The left fielder has been on an amazing run, entering Monday hitting .374 in his last 33 games – the highest average in MLB during that stretch.
Then, he went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a walk against the Guardians.
And if you’re a Tiger without the initials “R.G.?” Ugh.
The bottom of the Tigers’ batting order has been so unproductive, it’s like giving away several innings of opportunity every game,. Seemingly the only time the Tigers even have a slight chance to score is when the top of the order comes up: Colt Keith, Kevin McGonigle, Dillon Dingler and Greene.
But even McGonigle has cooled off from his amazing start – he’s hitting .214 in May (but still getting on base, with a .333 OBP this month).
And Keith hasn’t shown any power: Just eight extra-base hits (all doubles) and an exit velocity in the 66th percentile among all MLB hitters.
That power outage? It’s a theme with this team.
Consider it this way: In May – which is nearly two-thirds over – only four Tigers have hit home runs – Dingler and Matt Vierling, with three; Gage Workman (who has all of 23 plate appearances this month) with two; and Spencer Torkelson, with one.
Greene came into Monday’s game hitting .393 in May. But Dingler has the Tigers’ next best average this month, at .259; Workman is at .227.
That has basically been the Tigers’ offense.
That’s how you lose six of seven series.
That’s how you lose 16 of 22 games.
But here’s the rub. All the Tigers who are struggling are better hitters than what they have done so far. They should improve.
“Their track record is not matching what we’re getting and that’s always tough,” Hinch said. “But it’s back to the drawing board, back to work, find a different way to be a positive influence tomorrow, come get your good work in, and find a way to have success, but I know these guys are battling and they’re grinding.”
Certainly, the Tigers would have had a better chance to score against Cleveland with Gleyber Torres, a professional hitter on the injured list right now. And clearly, having Kerry Carpenter – also on the IL – would have been a boost. He had six homers before he was hurt. Heck, even having Javier Báez would have helped, compared to what the Tigers are getting at the bottom of the lineup.
“I know a lot of people are giving up on them,” Hinch said. “We’re not going to give up on each other and continue to come to work.”
Tigers should get lift with returning players
This isn’t a must-win series for the Tigers. There is too much season left.
But this does feel like a measuring-stick moment, and, well, the Tigers simply didn’t measure up.
Again, the Guardians have a better team than the injury-depleted Tigers right now. That’s not really saying much.
But who will be standing at the end?
By the time this is over, I have a feeling the Tigers will close the gap, if the last two seasons are any indication. Remember: The Guardians won the Central last season – after an epic Tigers collapse in September – but October saw Detroit take the AL wild-card series over Cleveland in five games.
Besides, the Tigers are still missing a ton of players right now. And the ones they do have are due for improved production.
So, don’t say this Central chase is over. Even if it feels like that right now.
“I think this is such a fun rivalry that’s developed certainly over the last couple of years as both teams have been really good and trading punches here or there,” Hinch told reporters. “There’s the reality that they caught us in the division, but then we won in the playoffs. And then two years ago, when we were the upstart team, they stopped us in the playoff. I mean, that stuff is great for our division. It’s great for the two cities and two franchises that are fighters.”
Yes, there is mutual respect between these two teams.
“Personally, for me, I love [Cleveland manager] Stephen Vogt,” Hinch said. “I love their coaching staff. I love their players. I love them from a distance, because they’re tough to deal with when they’re across the way, but I have a lot of respect for how they go about it.”
So yes, Cleveland. We will give you your props. We respect what you’ve done.
You have the better teams – on the hardwood and on the diamond.
For now.
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers have same sickness as Pistons: Cleveland
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
