Homestand brings Detroit Tigers back down to earth

DETROIT – The Tigers beat the lowly Cleveland Indians, 8-6, on Sunday afternoon.

By doing so, the Tigers salvaged their 10-game homestand, winning the final two games to go 5-5 at Comerica Park.

Recommended Videos



That's the good news.

The bad news is that the Tigers (13-6) fell back down to Earth and aren't the team that opened the season with nine wins in the first 10 games and started the 2015 campaign at 11-2.

In fact, the Tigers are closer to the team that struggled at home the past week and a half than the juggernaut that looked unbeatable to open the season.

Neither is a great sample of games to fully know what's in store for a team in Major League Baseball. After all, there are 162 games in a season.

However, some of the same stuff that people were weary of is present and accounted for.

Namely, questionable starting pitching, a bad bullpen and questions about the health of some players, especially Victor Martinez.

It's the reason the Tigers weren't the overwhelming favorite to win the American League Central again. Detroit won it the previous four seasons.

There's no reason to sound the alarm or wave the white flag. But the Tigers aren't who some thought they were when they started the season white hot.

And in the last three series here in Motown, there is evidence of it.

We've seen the offense disappear. We've seen inconsistent-to-horrible starting pitching and we've seen a sloppy bullpen.

"We had a little bit of a tough homestand," Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler said. "It didn't really go the way we wanted it to."

Kinsler's assessment is an honest one. Few, if any, thought the Tigers would be scuffling so bad at Comerica that they needed two straight wins over the Tribe to avoid a losing 10-game homestand.

It was the exact opposite. Most thought the Tigers were in great position to pile up wins, move ahead in the division, burying the others in an early dust.

Somehow, despite the fast start, the Tigers actually started Sunday in second place in the Central behind the Kansas City Royals.

"I don't really care," Tigers' manager Brad Ausmus said. "You much rather win than lose on a daily basis. But you can slice up streaks and wins and losses any way you want. The important thing is win today and when the season is over, you hope you have enough wins to win the division."

The Tigers' bullpen didn't look bad at all to the start the season. That's because it was seldom used. The Tigers got unbelievable starting pitching.

Now that we've seen the starting pitching falter, we've seen some of the same pitchers that fans feared as the season started.

The loss of Joe Nathan is bigger than most fans think. Many pooh-poohed Nathan as if he didn't matter and the Tigers would ultimately be better off without MLB's current save leader. Wrong.

The Tigers were counting on Nathan to bounce back and be a strong part of the backend of the bullpen along with Joakim Soria, who picked up his seventh save in seven attempts on Sunday.

On a day when Kyle Lobstein pitched seven solid innings to pick up his second win of the season, it's easy to forget that Justin Verlander is still hurt and his return is not in sight yet.

The Tigers said Verlander - who last pitched in a simulated game April 15 - won't pick up a ball again until he's completely pain-free in his right triceps and fluid in the area is gone, as well.

But that's another big blow the Tigers have been able to cover up so far because of their winning record.

If the homestand said something about this team, so will this upcoming 10-game road trip, which starts on Monday in Minnesota.

After that, there's four games in KC against the Royals and they finish the trip with three in Chicago against the White Sox.

For sure, the Tigers will be tested playing within the division for the entire trip. It's a chance to be cream at the top or pushed back in the pack.

If this last homestand was a preview, it might be hard to watch.