Detroit Tigers: Omaha trip ends up far from ideal for Tigers

From technical difficulties with the TV broadcast to a blowout loss at the hands of the Royals, it seems safe to say the trip to Omaha did not go as planned for the Detroit Tigers.

It took a very long time for the Detroit Tigers offense to get going in Omaha on Thursday night, but this season that’s really nothing new. With all the excitement surrounding the inaugural MLB In Omaha event, the night ended up being a complete dud for the Tigers, as they fell to the Kansas City Royals 7-3.

The strangest part of Thursday night happened after the first inning when viewers of the ESPN broadcast were suddenly taken into a series of rotating “live look-ins” to other MLB games instead of the Tigers vs. Royals. Technical difficulties left viewers unable to see much of the second and third innings before things returned to normal.

Once fans could actually watch the game again, it was clear that Detroit could not do anything against Royals starter Homer Bailey, who blanked the Tigers through six innings and allowed just two hits. It wasn’t until after Bailey left the game that the Tigers were able to put up any runs at all, but already down 7-0 at that point, the effort was futile.

Victor Reyes, Ronny Rodríguez, and Harold Castro each tallied an RBI in the 7-3 loss, with Reyes and Rodríguez each coming in as pinch hitters.

The reason that Reyes entered the game as a pinch hitter was due to center fielder and leadoff hitter Jacoby Jones leaving the game with an apparent elbow injury. Jones has been one of, if not the hottest bat in the Detroit Tigers lineup in the past few weeks and went 1-2 with a single on Thursday.

Overall, things just looked flat out dull in Omaha for Detroit. The offense had a tough time getting anything in play and starter Matthew Boyd had an uncharacteristically mediocre night (4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 7 K). It’s safe to say the Tigers must be eager to put Omaha in the rearview and be ready to head home for a weekend series against the Cleveland Indians.