Detroit Tigers: VerHagen’s first start of season spoiled by Seattle

The Detroit Tigers experienced a sour beginning to their western road trip with a blowout loss in Seattle to the Mariners on Thursday night.

The Detroit Tigers got in a hole early, and the rest of the game seemed unmotivated. The Tigers started well with John Hicks giving them an early lead as he blasted a solo homer to center field in the top of the third. However, the Tigers gave up five runs in the bottom of the third thanks to a grand slam by the Mariners’ Tim Beckham. Shortly after, Detroit found themselves down 8-2 entering the sixth and never recovered with the final score of 10-2.

This game was Drew VerHagen’s first start of the year after being called up from Toledo, and it did not go as he hoped it would. In his four innings pitched, he gave up seven runs in total while only being credited for six. VerHagen seemed composed in the first two innings, but sadly let it slip away in the third leading to another Tiger loss.

His stats this season in the majors hasn’t been pretty. This past game marks his 11 games this year, and he has an ERA that totals 14.40. VerHagen has received another chance that he can still pitch in the majors. He could be a bit rusty considering the fact his last game in the majors was May 1st against the Phillies. Even with that fact in mind, it wasn’t the best impression to leave on the field.

The Detroit Tigers have only won three games in the entire month of July as fans continue to see a frequent stream of losses coming across home plate. Detroit is on route for another high draft selection, and the fans are anxiously waiting to see what new young prospects will enter the clubhouse around the trade deadline. It feels like this rebuild is a long way from being over.