KANSAS CITY -- The Tigers need to win every game right now, it’s no secret. It’s what the club has preached postgame following each tough loss this week. But Sunday’s 11-7 defeat to the Royals at Kauffman stadium was one of the toughest, capping a road trip that went anything but right.
Detroit has now lost eight of its past nine games after a 1-5 stop through Pittsburgh and Kansas City. And with 13 players on the injured list, including lineup staples Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter, not much went the Tigers’ way for a club sinking in the American League Wild Card race.
“We’ve got to pick ourselves up. I mean, this was a miserable road trip,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “Results are pretty obvious. … We haven’t executed perfectly. We don’t have to be perfect to win games, but at the end of day, you either take a step forward or you take a step backwards -- and we took a couple of steps backwards this trip and we’re wearing it.”
Here’s what to know after Sunday’s finale:
Sears makes MLB debut
The biggest highlight Sunday was the debut of No. 14 prospect Andrew Sears, who spun four innings of five-run ball. The line looks worse than how he performed, though. The left-hander began his Major League career with a 1-2-3 frame and struck out Bobby Witt Jr. after a leadoff walk in the fifth inning to begin his second frame. That’s when he ran into a bump, though.
Sears left a pair of sliders and a changeup in the heart of the plate to Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez and John Rave and all three capitalized with run-scoring extra-base hits. The 23-year-old then worked around a two-out single in the sixth before tossing a 1-2-3 seventh with the help of an outfield assist. Sears was pulled after allowing a leadoff single in the eighth, though, and that run came in to score off Kyle Finnegan.
“I think he handled the emotions of the day,” Hinch said. “I think the execution hurt him a little bit when he made mistakes, but he got a lot of firsts out of the way and he competed. I don’t think he was overwhelmed, I don’t think he was sped up. … He should be proud of himself for making it to this point and getting an opportunity. He’s now a big leaguer and he’s going to get to work for his next outing.”
Sears generated seven whiffs on 15 swings with his slider while averaging 81.9 mph with the pitch. It’s one of his best weapons that’s helped him post a 2.16 ERA across four levels this season in the Minor Leagues.
“I feel like it was a pretty good outing,” Sears said. “I left a few pitches up, which were mistakes, besides that I was in the zone well, making my pitches.”
McGonigle continues to rake
Kevin McGonigle had a hit in five of six games during the road trip, crushing two homers and driving in eight runs. His two-run homer in the fifth Sunday tied the game before Sears was hit around in the bottom of the frame.
McGonigle, who never played more than 88 games during his three years in the Minors, is now hitting .283 with 14 homers and 56 RBIs in 126 games for the Tigers this season. His 5.7 bWAR entering Sunday was second only to Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. (6.2) in the American League.
It was a good week for the 22-year-old, but his manager summed up how McGonigle said he felt while standing at his locker after the Tigers’ latest loss -- frustrated.
“While he’s accomplishing a lot, he’s never satisfied,” Hinch said. “His team lost today, which is what he’s going to leave the ballpark with. And I cherish that kind of mindset.”
Where things stand
That brings us to how this skid has changed the AL Wild Card picture. Last Friday, the Tigers held sole possession of the third Wild Card. Now, Texas, Cleveland, Toronto, Minnesota, Baltimore and Seattle have all passed them in the standings.
Detroit now sits 3 1/2 games out of the playoffs with 32 games to go. Per FanGraphs, the Tigers had a 4.9% of making the postseason at the time of final out. Next, it’s the first-place Rays and Dodgers starting Monday.
“I understand the tough path that we’ve created for ourselves and I don’t care how bleak it looks,” Hinch said. “We need to show up ready to play the Rays tomorrow because they’re a pretty good team.”