Detroit Tigers: Boston sweep ends rough first half of season

A 6-3 loss on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park at the hands of the Boston Red Sox serves as a bitter end to a very rough first half of the season for the Detroit Tigers.

Although not technically the exact midway point of the season, the MLB All-Star break is always used as the dividing point of the baseball year. For the Detroit Tigers, the first half of the 2019 season was cruel, to say the least, and getting swept by the defending world champions Boston Red Sox was a harsh ending.

In each of this weekend’s three games against Boston, the Detroit Tigers did make efforts for a comeback trying to pull themselves out of deficits. Each time, however, the Tigers’ comebacks failed to amount to much of anything in the end.

Jeimer Candelario had quite the weekend at the plate for Detroit, rounding out a rollercoaster of a first half for the third baseman. Despite going 0-3 on Sunday, the “Candy Man” still had a successful series two home runs on Saturday and five RBI total for the series.

A two-run home run from Brandon Dixon in the bottom of the eighth was the best shot the Tigers had at bringing life back into the game on Sunday, but yet again they fell short. Sunday’s loss marked Detroit’s eighth loss in the last ten games, a poor mark that seemed all too common in the first half of this season.

With that, the Detroit Tigers officially enter the All-Star break with a record of 28-57. The Tigers are one of just two teams entering the break with under 30 wins, the other being the Baltimore Orioles. It seems now as if Detroit and Baltimore will be dueling for the number one overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft over the second half of the season.

What a first half of the season it was for the Tigers. Despite being one of the worst teams in baseball, there’s still plenty to look forward too in the second half, such as trade deadline drama and what young talent can shine during call-up season. So, at least there’s that.