AJ Hinch blasting Tigers after sweep piles onto ridiculous stat vs Athletics

Sometimes, a team just has your number. That might explain, at least in part, why the Detroit Tigers are 17-44 against the Athletics dating back to 2015. For their latest three-game sweep at the hands of the A's, though, the Tigers have no one to blame but themselves.

Outscored 22-9 over three games – only one of which was close – Detroit was sloppy on defense, lifeless on offense, and unsteady on the mound. You would have thought that the Tigers, not the Athletics, were fifth-worst team in the American League.

The Tigers were charged with six errors in three games, several of which resulted in unearned runs. It was highly uncharacteristic for a team known for playing clean baseball, and while one series doesn't define them, it certainly created some uneasiness around the team's preparedness for the postseason as October looms.

AJ Hinch blasting Tigers after sweep emphasizes how much Athletics have crushed them

Reflecting on his team's performance in the series, which extended their losing streak to four games, Tigers manager AJ Hinch did not mince words.

"We had a really s----y series," Hinch told reporters after Wednesday's series finale (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press). "We didn't play well. We got beat on all facets of the game. So that's what I call this series. When you get outplayed on offense, defense, pitching, across the board, it's painful to watch sometimes and painful to experience as a team."

Despite their abysmal series in Sacramento, the Tigers still hold an 8.5-game lead in the American League Central over the Kansas City Royals and trail the Toronto Blue Jays by just a half-game for the best record in the AL. With 27 contests remaining in the regular season, however, the margin for error is getting increasingly thin.

The Tigers have precious little time to get back on track as they prepare to visit the Royals for their upcoming three-game series – one in which they will have to do the exact opposite of what they did against the Athletics if they have any hope of winning. Because if they endure a worst-case scenario showing, this could shrink down a 5.5-game lead entering September. And we certainly don't want those doomsday fans coming out to further kill the vibes as the Tigers look to stay on track and improve their positioning for October.

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