Detroit Tigers: Ausmus shakes up lineup, Bad bunts & Verlander rehab start

As the saying goes “Better late than never.”

Tigers fans and staff writers of MCB have been calling for manager Brad Ausmus to make major changes to the lineup for weeks. Those fans finally got their wish.

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The most significant change in the batting order on Tuesday was moving Ian Kinsler down from the No. 2 spot to fifth and Jose Iglesias up from No. 9 to second. At the No. 5 spot, Kinsler was hitting between Yoenis Cespedes and J.D. Martinez.

Detroit did score three runs on Tuesday, which was more than in three of their last four games, but it still wasn’t enough as the Tigers dropped a tough one to the Athletics, 5-3.

The second-guessers from the game would point to the third inning as the biggest missed opportunity for the Detroit Tigers offense.

With runners on first and second, no outs, catcher James McCann hit a sacrifice bunt to advance each runner into scoring position. In the next at-bat, center fielder Anthony Gose also laid down a bunt, but Tyler Collins, who was running home from third, was thrown out in a rundown.

The Tigers did not score in the inning. Ausmus did not call for either bunt and was most upset about McCann’s decision to give up an out.

In addition to the tough game, Tuesday was certainly a busy day for the Detroit Tigers front office as they made several roster changes. The Tigers also decided that right-hander Justin Verlander will make one more rehab start at Triple-A Toledo, which will be on Saturday.

That means Kyle Ryan will be the Tigers fifth starter this week and pitch on Friday.

Brad Ausmus shakes up struggling Detroit Tigers starting lineup: “Things weren’t working” – Chris Iott, MLive.com

"Kinsler will hit between left fielder Yoenis Cespedes and right fielder J.D. Martinez, who both provide the team with some power but are apt to strike out with some regularity.“The idea that Kinsler, in the middle of those guys, makes a little bit more contact might help,” Ausmus said. “We’ll see.”Kinsler had been considering telling Ausmus he was fine if Ausmus wanted to move him out of the second spot. Ausmus spoke with him following the game Sunday in Anaheim to tell him of the move before Kinsler had the chance to volunteer."

Baffling bunts show Tigers desperate to create runs – Chris McCosky, The Detroit News

"In the third inning of a scoreless game, with Tyler Collins on second and Nick Castellanos on first, James McCann put down a well-executed but poorly timed bunt.With runners at second and third, Anthony Gose followed with a bunt, a poorly executed one, which resulted in Collins being tagged out after a rundown.“Yeah, that was my call,” Gose said. “It was a terrible bunt, probably not the right situation to do it there, early in the game. Probably a good time to swing the bat and save it for some time later.”"

Verlander will pitch one more rehab start in Toledo – Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press

"The Detroit Tigers right-hander will make a second rehabilitation start for Triple-A Toledo on Saturday, manager Brad Ausmus said today.“After discussing how his outing went and how he felt, we all kind of came to the conclusion that another rehab start would be beneficial,” Ausmus said.Verlander is taking the final steps in his road to recovery from a right triceps strain that has kept him out all of the 2015 regular season so far."

Next: Verlander returning at a perfect time

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