2 Key Takeaways From A.J. Hinch After Another Deflating Tigers Loss
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What started in a rain delay, the blues continued for the Detroit Tigers as they dropped the series opener against the Cleveland Guardians.
Now, the Tigers sit at 20-28 and rank fourth in the division standings, 6.5 games back from the team they will face for another three games in this series.
Detroit has had some positive news off the field as of late, such as an encouraging Tarik Skubal update and a handful of players gearing up for their return to the franchise either before the month is over or at the beginning of June. Regardless, that's the only positive this franchise is getting right now.
Losing 8-2, manager A.J. Hinch sat in front of reporters for his postgame looking to spin this game and this stretch into something positive, while keeping things as blunt as possible.
Hinch's Comments on the Offense
"It looked like early that we weren't on time with his (Slade Cecconi) fastball and then we got a little jumpy," Hinch told reporters via 97.1 The Ticket on X (formerly Twitter). "A couple of guys had some good at-bats, Riley had some good at-bats, Kevin had some good at-bats, but he just minimized pretty much everything."
Riley Greene got the scoring started for Detroit by hitting a double into the right-center field gap to score Dillon Dingler, but would have to wait until the eighth inning to score again, courtesy of a Matt Vierling solo home run.
Hinch's Comments on the Walks
"They (Cleveland), coming in, they had done a few things with their approach to make you come into the zone and not every walk is the same," Hinch said. "Some they earned, some they didn't, for (Steven) Kwan, there was a forcefield around the strike zone."
"For Framber (Valdez), he was around the strike zone, not necessarily in the strike zone, and then late he went at 'em, and they were ready to hit. So, it's one thing to be a high walk team, but to couple that with their ability to be on the barrel early, they just kept the line moving."
Detroit's pitching walked seven batters and struck out seven, whereas the Tigers' hitters walked three times and struck out five.
The Tigers have a lot of work to do, but have to hold to the approach of taking it one game at a time. As the old saying goes, you can't win the division this early in the season, but you can definitely lose it, and for Detroit, they're starting to let the division slip like water slipping through the palm of your hand.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.