The Detroit Tigers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory this afternoon against the Los Angeles Angels, surrendering what was a 10-2 lead and ultimately falling by a 13-10 final.
The Tigers would burn through six total pitchers on the afternoon after Matt Manning started the game; the bullpen did the team no favors, giving up several hits: Derek Holland (three), Joe Jimenez (three), Kyle Funkhouser (one), Michael Fulmer (three) and Ian Krol (one).
The Angels completed the sweep of the Tigers, who will now head out on the road.
“We didn't do anything right on the mound at the end of the game,” Hinch said. “We struggled to throw strikes. We struggled to control damage. They kept pecking away at every reliever. This loss stings. It's a bad loss. … We let this one get away from us. It's completely on us. We'll move on and get to the next series, but it's a bad loss.”
Hinch earned his first ejection as Tigers manager and the 17th of his career after Tigers catcher Dustin Garneau was called for interference; bench coach George Lombard took over.
The Angeles powered their way back into the game in the 6th inning following Manning's departure, scoring six runs on four singles, two walks and a two-run triple by Brandon Marsh.
“We're not in a good place with the bullpen,” Hinch said. “We'll have to talk about it. We'll obviously regroup. Confidence-wise, we're going to be fine. This is a good group of relievers. They're going to bounce back from that.”
For the Angels, the eight run comeback was the largest of sorts they've enjoyed since the 1986 campaign when they accomplished the feat against – you guessed it – the Tigers.
– – Quotes via The Detroit Free Press Link – –