CHICAGO – Mistakes on the bases. Misplays in the field. Self-inflicted wounds. And blown opportunities by the Detroit Tigers.
That’s how Chicago White Sox beat the Tigers, 3-1, at Rate Field on Thursday, Sept. 17.
And if that seems like a familiar story, it should. It was the 13th straight time the Tigers lost by two runs or fewer on the road against an American League Central opponent.
Unlucky 13. The story of this season.
And now, this young team is learning the most basic truth in baseball: There is an incredibly small margin that separates winning and losing.
In this game, it was a first-inning Kevin McGonigle bobble (ruled a hit but it sure looked like an error), and then a four-pitch walk from Framber Valdez, that played a part in the White
Sox scoring three runs when Framber Valdez gave up a homer.
“Well, the three-run homer in the beginning obviously put us in a hole,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Some of that, self-inflicted. We had the kind of awkward play at third (with McGonigle). We had the walk on four pitches. So, we were in a hole from the get-go, and then we had a few opportunities. I thought we hit the ball hard a couple of times, just got a little bit of bad luck with where we hit it.
“Then at the end we had some poor baserunning decisions that ended some rallies, so all in all, in close games, everything matters, and that that certainly will be a frustrating loss.”
The biggest baserunning blunder happened at a critical time. Rookie Brett Callahan was thrown out trying to go from first to third on a Max Clark infield hit, even though the Tigers were losing by two runs in the eighth inning.
Simply put, it wasn’t worth the risk, even if it did require a replay review to reverse the initial safe call. To make it far, far worse, Callahan's gamble ended the inning.
“You can't make an out there,” Hinch said. “I mean, it's a lesson for him. He got a little overaggressive and a little anxious there, and thought he could beat the throw, and he didn't.”
These are things this young team needs to learn.
But it sure is painful as they are getting a condensed MLB education. When the pressure grows, baseball IQ has to sharpen. Not get loosey goosey.
To make it worse, the Tigers had chances but they just couldn’t convert. The Tigers had nine runners in scoring position and failed to get the run in every time.
“Mistakes are mistakes,” Hinch said “We're learning on the fly a little bit, and certainly when you see these games and how they play out, you know a base hit here, a base hit there is one thing. But the self-inflicted ones, whether it's decisions made on the bases or whether it's executing a play, you're not going to turn every double play… but our guys are seeing firsthand that in close games little things matter.”
Here’s the crazy part: the Tigers used to be so good at this. Last year, the Tigers went 11-3 in games decided by two runs or less in the AL Central.
This year?
It has totally flipped. They are now 9-23 in those games (two runs or less) against the division.
“You have to play in them to learn how to win them,” Spencer Torkelson said. “I think it's a great learning opportunity, and we're just going to build off of it."
I suppose that’s one way to look at it.
To lose a close game, you have to be right there, right within reach.
“I think it gives us something to focus on, something to learn from, to grow from, and to know that we're right there,” Torkelson said.
True.
But when you lose all these close games, that’s how you look up with less than two weeks to play and the Tigers are in no-man’s land.
Six games behind the White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central, three losses (or wins by those teams) away from elimination in the division for the 12th straight season.
And six games behind Cleveland for the AL's third and final wild-card berth – three games, again, from elimination entering Friday.
“Any loss deflates us,” Torkelsons aid. “Going into this last stretch, we're knowing that we had to win every single game, so it definitely hurts that we lost the first one. But we're not going to back down. We're going to keep fighting and win the next three.”
It’s kinda wild. On Wednesday, the Tigers lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-1, after three errors by rookies.
This team is experiencing growing pains, while the season has slipped away.
Mistakes. Misplays. And self-inflicted wounds.
The big leagues are proving to be a harsh classroom for a young team.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mistakes, misplays and self-inflicted wounds quieting Tigers' final roar
