Tigers Suffer Rare Series Loss in Tampa
It was not the series Tigers fans wanted right after seeing a crushing comeback effort fall short against Pittsburgh late Thursday night. The Tigers lost two out of three in Tampa, giving up a staggering 25 runs in the process, the most runs they’ve allowed in a three-game series all year. It seems Detroit is still in search of its fifth starting pitcher for the rotation since losing Jackson Jobe this month, who will miss the remainder of the season. For the most part, pitching this year has not been an issue. The Tigers’ 3.50 team ERA ranks seventh best in baseball, thanks in large part to Cy Young contender Tarik Skubal and an impressive bullpen. Moving forward, however, it has become clear that a move should be made for another strong starter, especially if Detroit is serious about making a championship run.
One bright spot in what was otherwise a series to forget for the Tigers has been the success of Riley Greene in the cleanup spot. For most of Greene’s career, the Tigers struggled to find him a consistent spot in the lineup. This year, he has been almost entirely penciled into that four-hole spot, and it has been perfect. In this series, in which he played all three games in this spot, he went six for ten, of which four of his hits were for extra bases. With his OPS now rising to 0.875, Riley Greene is now playing the best baseball of his career in his newfound spot in the order.
Finally, this series confirmed to me something I believe AJ Hinch and the coaches should have established much earlier in this season: Wenceel Perez needs to be a daily starter for this team. The 25-year-old is batting 0.296/.346/.648, but has only appeared in 22 games this year. It seems whenever Perez gets a chance for at-bats, he takes full advantage, and as a result, it helps win games. I’d like to see Detroit plug in the young outfielder more often as we approach the mid-point of the season to get a better idea of exactly what Perez can contribute on a more consistent basis.
