CLEVELAND -- The Tigers left Progressive Field without throwing a pitch when trailing over a four-game series.
They led in 26 of 38 innings.
They lost three of four.
Welcome to the other side of walk-off magic, the kind the Tigers rode on the winning side in 2024.
“That’s surreal,” Colt Keith said after the latest walk-off defeat, a 3-2 loss in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon. “That’s never happened in my career. I mean, I don’t know if it’s ever happened ever.”
It’s not unprecedented; the Reds suffered three straight walk-off losses to the Cubs in May. But it’s historic for the Tigers, who hadn’t suffered such a fate since four consecutive walk-off losses to the Angels on July 20-23, 1989. Current Tigers analyst Dan Petry pitched in that series … for the Angels, pitching the 15th and 16th innings for a win in a five-hour marathon. Even then, though, the Tigers trailed before the end in all four games.
“The walk-offs are painful,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I mean, it’s the worst feeling coming off somebody else’s field while they’re celebrating. Obviously we’ve played a ton of close games against these guys. Close games don’t matter unless you win.
“I like our fight. I like [that] the guys are into it. We’re not going to quit. We’re not going to concede. We get to go home for a homestand. But this was a rough trip.”
It was a 2-5 road trip that began with back-to-back blowout losses in Minnesota and ended at the other extreme in The Land.
Sunday’s loss seemed simple to see coming, from the struggles to add onto a big opening inning against Guardians ace Gavin Williams to three consecutive strikeouts from rookie hitters with the go-ahead run on second in the 10th inning against Cade Smith. Once Daniel Schneemann singled home Angel Genao in the bottom of the 10th, the Tigers had their 42nd loss with a blown lead, their 26th one-run loss and their 11th walk-off defeat.
“They were getting the right hits at the right times,” Keith said. “It was unbelievable that that happened. It feels like we just keep on grinding and then just keep on coming up short.”
Here are three takeaways from the series, other than heartburn:
Riley Greene is locked in
Hours after going 4-for-5 with two homers, a double and four RBIs Saturday night, Greene picked up where he left off Sunday, crushing a Gavin Williams deep into the right-center gap for a two-run double in the opening inning before sending William’s 98 mph heater to the center-field fence for two more bases in the third.
Greene had five extra-base hits over a four-game span for the first time in his career. He finished 10-for-27 with five RBIs against the Guardians this season. After Sunday’s two doubles, Greene was clearly the player the Guardians didn’t want to beat them, which is what made the Tigers’ inability to get him to the plate with runners on all the more frustrating.
Kevin McGonigle walked leading off the fifth and eighth innings, putting cleanup hitter Greene in position to bat. But McGonigle was caught stealing on a Hao-Yu Lee strikeout in the fifth inning and doubled off on a hard-luck lineout from Keith in the eighth, leaving Greene on deck at the end of both innings. Greene took a broken-bat line out leading off the sixth and struck out against Smith leading off the ninth.
“He looks like he’s seeing the [ball] pretty well. He’s obviously getting the ball in the air. He hits these guys pretty well,” Hinch said. “So yeah, we wanted to get him as many at-bats as we could.”
Jobe bounces back
Jackson Jobe took the mound for his first pitch Sunday with a 2-0 lead thanks to Greene’s first double, but gave back a run on back-to-back doubles before loading the bases on consecutive walks. He threw 10 consecutive pitches out of the zone and was a ball away from walking in a run before striking out Genao and getting a Patrick Bailey groundout.
Jobe retired 12 consecutive batters, striking out the side in order in the second, before Brayan Rocchio’s fifth-inning homer tied the game. He finished with seven strikeouts over five innings and reached only one three-ball count after the opening frame.
What changed?
“I couldn’t tell you,” Jobe said. “In the 'pen, I pretty much didn’t miss a spot. I come out throwing heaters and missing up a little bit. Yeah, it’s weird.”
Youth shall be served
After their late-season rally to a Wild Card spot in 2024, the Tigers will never say never. But while they remain mathematically alive, they’re clearly using the opportunity to look at young players. Sunday’s lineup featured six rookies; the only starters who had played in the Majors before this year were Greene, Keith and Dillon Dingler.
Moreover, Hinch -- who normally uses pinch-hitters more than anyone -- didn’t use his bench Sunday, leaving Gleyber Torres, Zach McKinstry and Javier Báez in the dugout. With three weeks to go, the Tigers are getting a look at the kids and where they could fit next season and beyond.