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Tigers fans booing team in return to Comerica Park has vibes low heading into Game 4

Home field advantage? Never heard of it.
Emma Lingan
Emma Lingan

Motor City Bengals

Toronto Blue Jays v Detroit Tigers / Duane Burleson/GettyImages

After a lengthy, cross-country road trip that spanned nearly two weeks, the Detroit Tigers finally returned home to Comerica Park on Tuesday. But what started as a warm welcome from the sea of orange in the stands quickly turned sour as things began to go south for Detroit in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners.

The game, which was scheduled to start shortly after 4 p.m. ET but was delayed due to rain, saw Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert smother the Tigers' offense in what has become an all too familiar pattern for Detroit over the last several weeks. By the eighth inning, the Tigers were down 8-1, with plenty of fans streaming toward the exits.

The fans who remained at the ballpark made their displeasure known as boos rained down on the home team with inning after inning cut short by their lifeless at-bats. A rally attempt in the bottom of the ninth briefly raised hopes but ultimately fell short, with the Mariners taking Game 3 by a final score of 8-4.

Tigers' home field advantage feels practically nonexistent heading into ALDS Game 4 vs Mariners

Understandably, the Tigers faithful wanted more to cheer for on Tuesday. Frankly, they've wanted more to cheer for over the last two months as they watched their massive American League Central lead collapse.

After clinching a playoff spot just one day after the season ended, the Tigers headed straight to Cleveland and won two games in three days to knock out the Guardians and advance to take out the Mariners in Seattle. Now, the Tigers are 1-2 in the best-of-five series, with their backs against the wall as they face elimination in Wednesday's Game 4. Win, and they live to see another day. Lose, and their season is over.

At every step in their postseason journey, the Tigers have done just enough to get by. If Tuesday's game is any indication, fans are growing restless, unsatisfied by the bare minimum. For a team that needs stellar pitching and defense to even have a chance at winning, it sure would be nice if their bats came alive again in front of their hometown fans to avoid seeing their season come to a disappointing end at home.

Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). A native of Washington, D.C. and current resident of Nashville, Tenn., she is also entering her seventh season as a credentialed NHL media member and currently covers the NHL’s Nashville Predators for The Hockey News. When she's not watching hockey, baseball or football, she enjoys podcasting, reading, going to the gym, consuming large amounts of coffee and taking long walks with her dog, Minkah. You can follow her @Emma_lingan on Twitter and Instagram.