KANSAS CITY, MO – Andrew Sears rode a roller coaster in his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers.
Sears, a 23-year-old left-hander, had some impressive moments – like recording his first strikeout, which he notched against Bobby Witt Jr., the three-time All Star from Kansas City Royals. But he had plenty of bad ones – let’s call them learning experiences – after giving up a homer, a double, a walk and four runs in his second inning of work.
Those four runs proved to be the difference, as the Royals beat the Tigers, 11-7, to finish off a three-game sweep at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 23. The Tigers (61-69) have now lost eight of nine games, including five in a row – a disastrous skid that has cast a dark cloud on any hope of making the postseason.
“We picked a bad week to have a bad week,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said on Saturday.
But it sure fit on Sunday, too.
Meanwhile, the Royals (58-74) won their eighth straight. Yes, the Royals.
On the mound: Bullpen game went off the rails
Hinch came into this game with a loose plan. He wanted to use Jacob Waguespack as a starter on a bullpen day. Then, he was going to bring in Sears in bulk relief – but only in a clean inning, so that he didn’t inherit any stress. But things went haywire in the second inning.
Waguespack threw 1⅓ innings, giving up a hit and a walk. So, Hinch turned to Ty Maddenm, only to watch everything go off the rails. Madden inherited two runners and then hit Tyler Tolbert in the head to load the bases. After striking out Luke Maile, Madden had to face Kyle Isbel, who had two homers, a double and 3 RBIs in the first two games of this series. Then, Isbel did it again. He looped a single into left and drove in two runs. It got worse when Nick Loftin crushed a three-run homer, his sixth of the season.
Before you could blink, the Royals had a 5-1 lead.
Enter Sears. It was low stress and he had a solid start: two popups and a ground out. Maybe, that was the spark the Tigers needed, because the Tigers scored four runs to tie it up.
So, here came Sears again to work his second inning.
He gave up his first run when Vinnie Pasquantino crushed a ball off the centerfield wall and Salvador Perez hit an RBI double, as the Royals took a 7-5 lead. Then, it got worse when John Rave hit a two-run homer to right, giving the Royals a 9-5 lead.
Sears got the loss after throwing four innings, giving up five runs off six hits. He struck out three with a walk.
At the plate: Tigers finally find offense
The Tigers had little offense early in the game, even though they hit the ball hard.
Hao-Yu Lee hit a ball 406 feet that was caught. Eduardo Valencia crushed a ball that had a 103.1 mph exit velocity, but it was caught. And Kevin McGonigle hit a ball with a 102 mph exit velocity and it traveled 374 feet … but it was caught.
The Tigers were down 5-1 in the fifth inning before they woke up. Gleyber Torres had an RBI and Lee followed with an RBI single, making it 5-3. Then, McGonigle crushed a homer to right, knocking in two runs and tying the game, 5-5.
But after that, the Tigers couldn’t keep up with the Royals.
They loaded the bases in the seventh but could only get a run.
Next up: Beasts of the AL East and NL West
It’s not gonna get any easier for the Tigers.
They return home for a six-game homestand featuring the Tampa Bay Rays, who lead the AL East by three games with the best record in the American League, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the NL West by nine games and have the second-best record in the National League. Yes, that means Tarik Skubal will make his Comerica Park return. Against the Tigers. (He’s set to go on Saturday.)
But before then, left-hander Framber Valdez is scheduled to start it off, pitching for the Tigers on Monday (6:40 p.m., Detroit SportsNet). Right-hander Drew Rasmussen (13-5, 3.01) will start for the Rays, who avoided a sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers burned in Andrew Sears’ trial by fire in 5th straight loss
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
