Detroit Tigers can’t get bats going against Clevinger in Cleveland

The Detroit Tigers fall for the third straight night to the Cleveland Indians. Cleveland’s Mike Clevinger went six innings and struck out 12 Tigers hitters.

The Detroit Tigers dropped their third game against Cleveland Wednesday night. Cleveland’s right-hander Mike Clevinger was dominant and went for six innings, striking out 12 and only allowing the Tigers to plate one run. The Tigers would score one more and end up losing 7-2.

Despite the loss, Wednesday’s outing was decent for Detroit’s starter Spencer Turnbull. Turnbull went for six innings and only allowed three runs and one walk. Turnbull also struck out three along the way. His season ERA is now 3.65, which is respectable despite his less than appealing 3-9 record.

The real issue was the Tigers offense. While they were able to get eight hits, they were only able to score two runs. One of these runs also came off of a solo shot by Nicholas Castellanos in the eighth inning. This means the Tigers were incapable of capitalizing on opportunities where they had runners on base.

Castellanos was one of the few bright spots at the plate for the Tigers tonight, going two for four with the solo home run. He almost went yard in the first inning as well and missed a home run by about ten feet. Castellanos has been the talk of many trade rumors with the approaching deadline, and this performance could impact his value and determine whether the Tigers decide to deal him. There is no question that the Tigers could use his bat, but they could also use more prospects for the future.

The series in Cleveland continues tonight at 7:10 EST where Matt Boyd, another Tiger on the trading block, will face off against Trevor Bauer. The Tigers will need to get their bats going in this one if they hope to boost Boyd to a win.