Detroit Tigers Are Running Out of Time to Stop Their Collapse
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The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins conclude their three-game series on Wednesday after Detroit suffered a pair of lopsided losses to begin its visit.
The Tigers have lost 14 of their last 17 games since August 14. They will have a day off tomorrow before finishing this road trip through the American League Central with a four-game series in Cleveland beginning Friday, opening with a day/night doubleheader.
The two losses this week in Minneapolis extended Detroit’s streak to six consecutive series losses since August 14-16, the club’s longest stretch without winning a series since an eight-series losing streak from May 4-31.
The Tigers’ play has been marked by inconsistencies, to the point that they finished August with a .228/.309/.356 offensive line, a .665 OPS and just an 88 wRC+, the second-worst mark in the American League.
The Tigers are looking to snap a seven-game losing streak in Minnesota tonight that dates back to last season, their longest losing streak there since an eight-game stretch between Sept. 7, 2020, and July 26, 2021. In franchise history, they have gone winless in Minnesota over an entire season only once, when they went 0-6 in 1988.
They will try to avoid going 0-7 (or worse) on the road against the same opponent in a single season for the first time since going 0-7 against the Chicago White Sox in 2020.
Who can stop the chaos?
Last night, the Tigers recorded their 39th loss of the season after holding a lead at some point in the game, tying the Athletics for the third-most losses of this type in all of baseball. Last year, Detroit had only 35 such losses all season, tied for 15th.
Drew Anderson makes his eighth start of the season tonight, in addition to his 38 relief appearances. While Tyler Holton (2024) and three other left-handers have accomplished this in franchise history, Anderson becomes just the second right-handed pitcher in club history to record at least 38 relief appearances and eight starts in a single season, joining Pat Dobson in 1969 (39 relief appearances, 10 starts). Anderson has faced 16 Twins hitters this season and held them to a .154 BA. That is the lowest batting average allowed by any Tigers pitcher against Minnesota this year.
That statistic even includes Tarik Skubal, who faced 24 Twins hitters this season and allowed a .364 BA with a .533 BABIP. Other pitchers such as Framber Valdez (5.60), Casey Mize (6.10) and Ty Madden (4.59) have allowed extremely high xFIPs against Minnesota hitters. Ryan Jeffers (three home runs, 11 RBIs and a 1.286 OPS) has been the hitter who has punished the Tigers’ pitching the most, but Kody Clemens (3), Byron Buxton (2), Josh Bell (2) and Royce Lewis (2) have also hit at least two home runs. Behind Jeffers, the trio of Lewis (7), Broocks Lee (7) and Luke Keaschall (6) has combined for 20 RBIs.
The Tigers woke up on June 1 with a 22-38 record and in last place in the American League, 11.0 games behind the first-place team (Cleveland) in the AL Central and 7.0 games behind the third wild card, with nine teams to pass. After going 38-23 over their next 61 games, they woke up on August 14 with a 60-61 record and sole possession of the AL’s third wild-card spot. However, since then they have lost 14 of their last 17 games and woke up today back in fourth place in the AL Central, 10.0 games behind the leader (White Sox) and again seven games behind the third wild card, with six teams to pass.
The worst thing we can perceive around this team is not just the inconsistency, but the competitive rhythm they showed after recovering from June. Dillon Dingler remains mired in a stretch of 91 plate appearances without a home run since August 7. Spencer Torkelson is on an even worse path, with 106 PA without getting the ball out of the park since July 31. Hao-Yu Lee (126 wRC+) has been the team’s most consistent hitter over the last 30 days, but he has struggled defensively in situations that have cost runs.
Kevin McGonigle leads the team in RBIs during that stretch (17), and Brett Callahan’s swing has been a relief, but the Tigers continue to waste too many opportunities with runners in scoring position. In the series they lost against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they went 4-for-21 with RISP (.190), and their last two lopsided losses, 11-1 and 15-2, came with an 0-for-10 mark.
None of the strengths the Tigers displayed between June and July have started working again, and the time to adjust and keep battling for a playoff spot is about to expire.
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Yirsandy is a baseball writer specializing in MLB coverage with experience across multiple teams and storylines. He currently writes for Diamond Centric, where he covers the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals. My work focuses on game coverage, player analysis, and storytelling that connects performance with context. My Substack has also been an important part of my writing development, where I’ve built much of my baseball coverage and storytelling voice over time. I’m passionate about combining reporting, research, and thoughtful analysis to produce engaging baseball content for readers.
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