After a quick 2-0 start to the 2021 season, the Detroit Tigers have been victorious in just one of the following seven. They now sit at 3-6 following a sweep at the hands of the division rival Cleveland Indians.
In addition to their offense going stagnant, Detroit wasn’t helped by two critical throwing errors by Nomar Mazara, leading to two runs on the board for the Indians in the 8th inning, effectively ending any chances of a comeback.
Afterwards, catcher Wilson Ramos offered a rather simple solution for Detroit’s recent struggles.
“We have to talk,” Ramos said, “because we need some more energy. We need some more energy out there. We need to keep our head up. It’s hard right now, losing four in a row, but we have to keep fighting.”
Ramos was one of the positives for the Tigers on the afternoon, blasting his fourth home run of the season and his third in as many games.
For manager A.J. Hinch, the series and this afternoon’s game was summed up by the fact that Cleveland connected at the plate when they needed to, while his squad did not.
“The big, critical at-bats for (the Indians) ended in contact and runs. And we had a lot of critical at-bats that ended up in swing and miss,” said Hinch. “So they won those at bats by putting the ball in play and giving themselves a chance to score a run. That was a big separator in the way that they were able to peck away and score a couple runs.”
The Tigers now move on for a three-game set against the Houston Astros beginning Monday, marking the return of former World Series manager Hinch to his former home.
– – Quotes via Evan Woodbery of MLive Link – –
