There really hasn’t been much that’s gone right for the Detroit Tigers and catcher Tucker Barnhart during the 2022 MLB season. Despite assurances from team owner Chris Ilitch and now-former general manager Al Avila that their rebuilding process was over, this year has been a myriad of frustrations, injury woes, a lacking offense, and far too many losses.
This afternoon, the Tigers suffered their 18th shutout loss of the season, this time at the hands of the visiting Seattle Mariners. With the setback, Detroit is now tied with the 2018 version of the squad for most in the Comerica Park era; they’re now also only two shutout losses away from tying the franchise record that was set back in 1975. What’s worse, they lead the Majors in shutout losses.
Powered by back-to-back home runs in the 3rd inning courtesy of Julio Rodriguez and Ty France, the Mariners would rout their hosts by a 7-0 score to put the finishing touches on a three-game sweep of the Tigers, who fall to 50-81, a full 31 games below the .500 mark. Meanwhile, Seattle improved to 73-58.
And the frustration in the Tigers clubhouse afterward was palpable, particularly from Barnhart.
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Tucker Barnhart is certainly frustrated
“It’s only that many? It’s not higher? Feels like it’s higher,” Barnhart said of the Tigers’ 18th shutout. “It’s frustrating. Playing from behind is tough. It’s just been a year of frustration across the board.”
Despite the frustration, team manager A.J. Hinch doesn’t believe that his team is quitting.
“I don’t think these guys have quit,” Hinch said. “It’s just a challenge. You got to be ready to hit. … I think the discouraging part is when there’s little to no offense. There’s just not a lot going on the offensive side. The further you fall behind, the worse it gets.”
The Tigers will have a quick turnaround and will look to get back on the winning side of things when they host the Kansas City Royals tomorrow night.
