The Detroit Tigers’ offense managed a pitiful two hits yesterday against the Dodgers. This isn’t some isolated blip, either; that slump is now three weeks deep after they were absolutely tearing it up from early June into August. When your bats go colder than a Seattle winter, you know you’re in trouble, and that’s exactly where Detroit finds itself.
Valdez Fights, Glasnow Deals, Ohtani Struggles
Framber Valdez came out absolutely DEALING in the first inning for the Tigers, doing everything he could to give his team a chance. He shut down the Dodgers’ monster lineup, racking up three quick ground outs from Shohei Ohtani, Tommy Edman, and Mookie Betts. What a start! Just eight pitches to get through that loaded top of the order. You love to see a pitcher in command like that. But even then, Shohei Ohtani’s struggles were evident. The guy, arguably the greatest player ever, is dealing with right biceps soreness and knee issues. It’s clearly messing with his plate production, and it’s kept him off the mound. He barely did anything all series until a hard-hit ball in the third that went straight to Colt Keith at first.
On the Dodgers’ side, Tyler Glasnow might not be hitting peak velocity, but his fastball is still nasty. He mirrored Valdez’s first inning, getting Gleyber Torres, Colt Keith (playing first base again with Spencer Torkelson on the bench, by the way), and Kevin McGonigle to ground out in quick succession. The game started as a proper pitching duel, with both aces looking sharp.
Tigers’ Offense Goes Ghost as Dodgers Find a Way
Valdez couldn’t hold it for long, though. The second inning started shaky, walking Freddie Freeman after being up 0-2. Dingler thought one of those pitches could’ve been challenged, but the call stood. Valdez did carve up Teoscar Hernandez with a nasty curveball for a whiff. But then Miguel Rojas smacked a curveball into left field for a double, putting Freeman on third. The pressure was on! Valdez then got Kyle Tucker on a check-swing strikeout , the third base umpire rang him up after he appeared to check his swing. He then dusted Enrique Hernandez with two good sinkers and then another right down the middle to escape the jam and keep the Dodgers off the board. Valdez fought hard to minimize the damage, but the cracks were starting to show.
Meanwhile, the Tigers’ bats remained silent. Glasnow was just as dominant on the mound. He locked up Dillon Dingler with a wicked curveball for the first out of the bottom half. Brett Callahan then grounded out to second, and even though Zach McKinstry tried to battle it out a bit longer, Glasnow eventually punched him out to end the inning. Ben Rortvedt flew out to open the third, and the Tigers went in order again that inning. Glasnow put up a complete brick wall.
A Season-Defining Slump?
That good start from Valdez just got completely spoiled by the end, and then the bullpen absolutely blew up in the late innings. Teoscar Hernández even got to celebrate scoring a run in the eighth! This team has to figure out its hitting, and fast. Two hits? That’s just not going to cut it, especially when this offense was on fire just weeks ago. You gotta wonder if this three-week slump is going to drag on even longer, especially after a brutal loss like this.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bless You Boys.
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