A.J. Hinch Makes Troubling Admission After Tigers' Latest Loss to Twins
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After trading away Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal, the Detroit Tigers made a surprise push for an American League playoff spot, but things have slowly gone south for manager A.J. Hinch and his team.
The Tigers started a pivotal road trip on Monday night against the Minnesota Twins and began the series with an 11-1 loss. If Hinch thought that was a tough night, then Tuesday night was a nightmare.
Minnesota scored 10 runs in the sixth inning to break open a 4-1 game and turn it into a 15-2 rout that dropped the Tigers 10 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central Division and seven games back of the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final AL wild-card spot.
Hinch voiced his frustration after Monday night's loss. He doubled down on that after Tuesday night's loss, which dropped his team to 63-75.
Tigers Manager A.J. Hinch Doesn't Mince Words After Second Straight Blow Out Loss To Twins
"It's a pretty low feeling,'' said Hinch, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit Free Press. "We're not in a good place right now. We're not executing the way we're accustomed to or the way we're talented enough to."
There have been times this season when it feels like Detroit has hit rock bottom, but the first two games against the Twins are near the top of the list.
Going into the series, the playoffs seemed like a very long shot at best, but Detroit hasn't helped its cause with its pitching and defense or its offense, which has mustered just three runs over 18 innings.
Detroit will look to avoid a sweep tonight when they send Drew Anderson to the mound against Minnesota's Dean Kremer. After this game, the Tigers will head to Cleveland for a four-game series over three days, with a day/night doubleheader on Friday. It was a series that some had circled a few weeks ago, but Detroit is playing themselves quickly out of contention.
Hinch isn't wrong about the way his team is playing. Defensively, they had a chance to escape major damage in the sixth inning on Tuesday night, but a throwing error with one out scored two runs rather than recording the second out of the inning. The floodgates opened from there.
There has been a lot of change over the last month for the Tigers, and just too much roster turnover between trades and injuries to overcome. It still doesn't ease the pain for Hinch, and that was evident after Tuesday night's loss.
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Scott Roche has covered both college and professional sports for nearly three decades for various outlets. Scott has covered the MLB, NHL, and college sports and he is someone always looking for a good rumor, no matter which sport it is.