Detroit Tigers: Pitching can’t hold off Seattle’s offense in loss

The Detroit Tigers surrendered eight runs to the Seattle Mariners in a decisive loss and Tyler Alexander received his first loss in the majors.

The first three games of the road trip out west have not gone according to plan for the Detroit Tigers, and today’s game was another harsh loss. The Tigers had trouble on both offense and defense, allowing eight runs to score while only plating one.

Tyler Alexander made his third start for the Tigers and pitched three scoreless innings before giving up three runs in the fourth and an additional run in the fifth. It all went downhill from there as Nick Ramirez would give up another four runs in the seventh. This was Alexander’s first loss at the major league level and he is now sporting a 3.86 ERA.

It is hardly fair to place all the blame on the pitching when Detroit also failed to score more than one run and went 1-4 with runners in scoring position. Detroit’s offense has been atrocious against Seattle so far, only scoring five runs in the first three games. Seattle has scored more than five in two of their three wins so far.

Brandon Dixon and Niko Goodrum seem to be the only positives lately, and they both had good nights again in Seattle. Dixon went 2-for-4 on the night and is now batting .263 with a .780 OPS. Goodrum drove in Detroit’s only run and went 1-for-3 with a walk. He is now batting .252 with a .737 OPS. These guys will need a little help from their fellow teammates if they hope to win any games, however.

The final game of the series takes place tomorrow at 4:10 EST and will feature Matthew Boyd pitching for the Detroit Tigers. With the trade deadline drawing ever closer, there are questions whether this will be Boyd’s last start as a Tiger. Boyd has been impressive this year despite his 6-8 record, and there are several teams interested in pursuing him.