Dropping their fifth straight game, an 11-7 thumping from the Kansas City Royals that finished off a brutal three-game sweep at Kauffman Stadium, has thrown a massive dark cloud over any playoff hopes for the Detroit Tigers. This latest loss on Sunday, August 23rd, was a total gut punch, leaving the Tigers at a dismal 61-69 and spiraling further into irrelevance.
Sears’ Rollercoaster Debut Goes Sideways
Andrew Sears, a 23-year-old left-hander, got his MLB debut for the Tigers, and man, was it a trial by fire. He had some seriously impressive flashes, like when he notched his first strikeout against Bobby Witt Jr., a three-time All-Star, no less! But then reality hit hard. In his second inning of work, Sears gave up a homer, a double, a walk, and four runs. Those four runs he coughed up? They proved to be the difference in the Royals’ 11-7 victory. Sears ultimately took the loss, finishing with four innings pitched, giving up five runs on six hits, striking out three, and walking one. A tough way to start your big league career, for sure.
Hinch’s “Bullpen Day” Blew Up in His Face
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch came into this game with a “loose plan” for a bullpen day, planning to use Jacob Waguespack to start before bringing in Sears for bulk relief in a clean inning. Yeah, that plan absolutely detonated in the second inning. Waguespack managed 1⅓ innings, giving up a hit and a walk before Hinch brought in Ty Madden. Madden immediately inherited two runners, then drilled Tyler Tolbert in the head to load the bases. After striking out Luke Maile, Madden faced Kyle Isbel, who had already torched them for two homers, a double, and three RBIs in the series. Isbel did it again, looping a single to left for two more runs. And it got worse: Nick Loftin crushed his sixth three-run homer of the season. Just like that, the Royals had a 5-1 lead. Sears came in then, had a solid low-stress start with two popups and a ground out, and the Tigers even scored four runs to tie it up! But when Sears came out for his second inning, Vinnie Pasquantino crushed one off the centerfield wall, Salvador Perez hit an RBI double for a 7-5 Royals lead, and John Rave smashed a two-run homer to right. Before you could blink, it was 9-5.
This whole mess perfectly sums up what Hinch said on Saturday: “We picked a bad week to have a bad week.” And it clearly applied to Sunday, too. The Tigers are now an abysmal 61-69, losing eight of their last nine, including five in a row. It’s officially a disaster. Meanwhile, the Royals, sitting at 58-74, just capped off an eight-game win streak. The season is getting ugly, folks. Real ugly.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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