Eye on MLB, June 4: Tigers' losing streak rolls on
In matinee action, the Tigers suffered their seventh straight loss (see below for the recap). After starting the season 11-2 (and also being nine games over .500 as recently as May 22), they are actually closer to last place than first and this is getting pretty ugly for a team not accustomed to this kind of ugly.
The Tigers didn't lose more than five straight last season. They didn't lose more than four straight in 2013 or five in a row in 2012. They actually did lose seven in a row in 2011, however, and they won 95 games that year.
Still, with a much better division this time around -- in 2011, the other four AL Central teams had losing records -- it would behoove the Tigers to put a stop to this thing rather quickly. To put a finer point on it, the Tigers, per FanGraphs, opened the 2015 season with a 51.6 percent chance of making the playoffs. By April 12, when the Tigers were 6-0, those odds improved to 64.7 percent. On May 22, when, as mentioned above, they rose back to nine games above .500, they had a 72.0 percent chance of being a playoff team. The day before their current losing streak started, the Tigers had a 72.9 percent of making it. Now? After seven straight losses, they have a 34.0 percent chance of making the postseason for the fifth consecutive year.
Obviously, there's still plenty of time for the Tigers to reverse course. A good start would be getting better innings from the rotation: Detroit starters over the last 30 days rank 28th in MLB with an ERA of 4.79. That needs to change, to state the obvious.
To the broader point, the task ahead of the Tigers is to methodically improve those cratering playoff odds. You do that by, you know, winning baseball games.
Anyway, welcome to The Eye. As we do each and every day, this will be updating throughout the day with game recaps, milestones, highlights, injury news, rumors and a look toward tomorrow's action. Stick here all day and night if you please, hitting refresh with reckless abandon, come back a few times or check in Friday morning. Any which way, we gotcha.
Today's MLB action (all times ET) (Full scoreboard)
A's 7, Tigers 5 (Box score): Much like the entire losing streak, this game was ugly for the hometown Tigers. Shane Greene was knocked around the yard, though the defense wasn't helpful either -- committing two errors and generally looking pretty bad. Jesse Hahn threw real well for the winners, working seven innings and only allowing one run on five hits. Billy Butler, Brett Lawrie and Eric Sogard each had two hits for the A's. The Tigers made things interesting with a four-run ninth, thanks in part to a three-run home run from Tyler Collins.
Orioles 3, Astros 2 (Box score): Since his last home run (May 11), Adam Jones came into Thursday's game hitting .213/.250/.250. He broke through in this one, though, going 3-for-4 with a no-doubt home run. Maybe it will serve as a microcosm for the Orioles, who break a five-game losing streak. They were able to get to Dallas Keuchel for a pair of runs in six innings, which doesn't sound great, but he entered the game with a 1.05 ERA in six home starts this season. As for the Astros, losing one of four games in the series is no big deal.
Twins 8, Red Sox 4 (Box score): The 2015 season continues to go poorly for the Sox. In this one, they blew a 4-0 lead and then lost the game when the Twins put four runs on the board in the ninth. Closer Koji Uehara gave up four runs -- two earned -- without recording an out, and Pablo Sandoval went 0-for-4 while commiting two of Boston's three errors. On the Minnesota side of things, Torii Hunter went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI, and the bullpen worked a combined four scoreless innings. The Twins are 22-9 since the end of April.
Reds 6, Phillies 4 (Box score): Aaron Harang turned in his poorest start as a member of the Phillies, as he allowed five runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Over that span, he struck out one while walking five. For the Reds, Brandon Phillips had a three-hit night, and Aroldis Chapman bounced back from Wednesday night's blown save to strike out the side in the ninth.
Cubs 2, Nationals 1 (Box score): The Cubs didn't score after the first inning, but they had all they needed as Jake Arrieta struck out eight and walked none across 6.0 innings of one run ball. Five Chicago relievers took it from there. In his first game of the 2015 season, Anthony Rendon of the Nats played third base and went 2-for-4 with a double.
Rangers 2, White Sox 1 - 11 innings (Box score): Shin-Soo Choo went opposite-field to beat the shift with a walk-off single in the 11th. Elsewhere, Leonys Martin had a three-hit night, and Prince Fielder drove in his 40th run of the season. The bright spot for the Sox was rookie starter Carlos Rodon, who struck out 10 and walked three while allowing one run over 6.0 innings of work. Here's a sampling of some of Rodon's filth ...
Indians 6, Royals 2 (Box score): Trevor Bauer walked four batters in 6 2/3 innings but managed a quality start, and Brandon Moss hit his 10th homer of the season. A booming two-run home run by Lorenzo Cain was the only blow struck by the Royals, who have lost seven of their last nine. The game was called with one out in the eighth after a 44-minute weather delay.
Mets 6, Diamondbacks 2 (Box score): Matt Harvey broke a three-start losing streak as he limited the D-backs to two runs on six hits in 7.0 innings of work. He struck out nine and walked one. John Mayberry recorded a four-hit night for the Mets, as he ended up a triple shy of the cycle. For Arizona, Paul Goldschmidt hit his 16th homer of the season.
Rays 2, Mariners 1 (Box score): The Tampa Bay bullpen contributed 3 2/3 scoreless innings to the cause. As for the M's, they squandered a strong start by Roenis Elias (8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 6 K, 1 BB) by leaving a team total of 20 runners on base. For the Rays, Joey Butler went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases.
Cardinals 7, Dodgers 1 (Box score): The top four hitters in the St. Louis lineup -- Kolten Wong, Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta -- went a combined 8-for-15 with four walks and two doubles. Meantime, starter Michael Wacha allowed one run over 7.0 innings, striking out five and walking none. The Cardinals are now a season-best 18 games over .500. Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson notched a double but failed to homer for a sixth straight game.
Milestone Watch
Longest active hit streak: Chris Colabello of the Blue Jays is up to 14.
In matinee action, the Tigers suffered their seventh straight loss (see below for the recap). After starting the season 11-2 (and also being nine games over .500 as recently as May 22), they are actually closer to last place than first and this is getting pretty ugly for a team not accustomed to this kind of ugly.
The Tigers didn't lose more than five straight last season. They didn't lose more than four straight in 2013 or five in a row in 2012. They actually did lose seven in a row in 2011, however, and they won 95 games that year.
Still, with a much better division this time around -- in 2011, the other four AL Central teams had losing records -- it would behoove the Tigers to put a stop to this thing rather quickly. To put a finer point on it, the Tigers, per FanGraphs, opened the 2015 season with a 51.6 percent chance of making the playoffs. By April 12, when the Tigers were 6-0, those odds improved to 64.7 percent. On May 22, when, as mentioned above, they rose back to nine games above .500, they had a 72.0 percent chance of being a playoff team. The day before their current losing streak started, the Tigers had a 72.9 percent of making it. Now? After seven straight losses, they have a 34.0 percent chance of making the postseason for the fifth consecutive year.
Obviously, there's still plenty of time for the Tigers to reverse course. A good start would be getting better innings from the rotation: Detroit starters over the last 30 days rank 28th in MLB with an ERA of 4.79. That needs to change, to state the obvious.
To the broader point, the task ahead of the Tigers is to methodically improve those cratering playoff odds. You do that by, you know, winning baseball games.
Anyway, welcome to The Eye. As we do each and every day, this will be updating throughout the day with game recaps, milestones, highlights, injury news, rumors and a look toward tomorrow's action. Stick here all day and night if you please, hitting refresh with reckless abandon, come back a few times or check in Friday morning. Any which way, we gotcha.
Today's MLB action (all times ET) (Full scoreboard)
A's 7, Tigers 5 (Box score): Much like the entire losing streak, this game was ugly for the hometown Tigers. Shane Greene was knocked around the yard, though the defense wasn't helpful either -- committing two errors and generally looking pretty bad. Jesse Hahn threw real well for the winners, working seven innings and only allowing one run on five hits. Billy Butler, Brett Lawrie and Eric Sogard each had two hits for the A's. The Tigers made things interesting with a four-run ninth, thanks in part to a three-run home run from Tyler Collins.
Orioles 3, Astros 2 (Box score): Since his last home run (May 11), Adam Jones came into Thursday's game hitting .213/.250/.250. He broke through in this one, though, going 3-for-4 with a no-doubt home run. Maybe it will serve as a microcosm for the Orioles, who break a five-game losing streak. They were able to get to Dallas Keuchel for a pair of runs in six innings, which doesn't sound great, but he entered the game with a 1.05 ERA in six home starts this season. As for the Astros, losing one of four games in the series is no big deal.
Twins 8, Red Sox 4 (Box score): The 2015 season continues to go poorly for the Sox. In this one, they blew a 4-0 lead and then lost the game when the Twins put four runs on the board in the ninth. Closer Koji Uehara gave up four runs -- two earned -- without recording an out, and Pablo Sandoval went 0-for-4 while commiting two of Boston's three errors. On the Minnesota side of things, Torii Hunter went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI, and the bullpen worked a combined four scoreless innings. The Twins are 22-9 since the end of April.
Reds 6, Phillies 4 (Box score): Aaron Harang turned in his poorest start as a member of the Phillies, as he allowed five runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Over that span, he struck out one while walking five. For the Reds, Brandon Phillips had a three-hit night, and Aroldis Chapman bounced back from Wednesday night's blown save to strike out the side in the ninth.
Cubs 2, Nationals 1 (Box score): The Cubs didn't score after the first inning, but they had all they needed as Jake Arrieta struck out eight and walked none across 6.0 innings of one run ball. Five Chicago relievers took it from there. In his first game of the 2015 season, Anthony Rendon of the Nats played third base and went 2-for-4 with a double.
Rangers 2, White Sox 1 - 11 innings (Box score): Shin-Soo Choo went opposite-field to beat the shift with a walk-off single in the 11th. Elsewhere, Leonys Martin had a three-hit night, and Prince Fielder drove in his 40th run of the season. The bright spot for the Sox was rookie starter Carlos Rodon, who struck out 10 and walked three while allowing one run over 6.0 innings of work. Here's a sampling of some of Rodon's filth ...
Indians 6, Royals 2 (Box score): Trevor Bauer walked four batters in 6 2/3 innings but managed a quality start, and Brandon Moss hit his 10th homer of the season. A booming two-run home run by Lorenzo Cain was the only blow struck by the Royals, who have lost seven of their last nine. The game was called with one out in the eighth after a 44-minute weather delay.
Mets 6, Diamondbacks 2 (Box score): Matt Harvey broke a three-start losing streak as he limited the D-backs to two runs on six hits in 7.0 innings of work. He struck out nine and walked one. John Mayberry recorded a four-hit night for the Mets, as he ended up a triple shy of the cycle. For Arizona, Paul Goldschmidt hit his 16th homer of the season.
Rays 2, Mariners 1 (Box score): The Tampa Bay bullpen contributed 3 2/3 scoreless innings to the cause. As for the M's, they squandered a strong start by Roenis Elias (8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 6 K, 1 BB) by leaving a team total of 20 runners on base. For the Rays, Joey Butler went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases.
Cardinals 7, Dodgers 1 (Box score): The top four hitters in the St. Louis lineup -- Kolten Wong, Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta -- went a combined 8-for-15 with four walks and two doubles. Meantime, starter Michael Wacha allowed one run over 7.0 innings, striking out five and walking none. The Cardinals are now a season-best 18 games over .500. Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson notched a double but failed to homer for a sixth straight game.
Milestone Watch
Longest active hit streak: Chris Colabello of the Blue Jays is up to 14.
