For whatever reason, the Tigers have not been able to find much success against the Indians this year. Cleveland is the only AL Central team with a winning record against the Tigers at 8-5 after Monday's game.
The series-opening loss at Comerica Park came right after Detroit moved back into a first-place tie in the division following a sweep of the White Sox. But every time the Tigers have done something well this season, it has been followed by failures, as noted by Bless You Boys.
You have to admit, you saw this coming. You did see this coming, right? These Tigers do not do well with success. Win a bunch of games, get swept by the Royals. Sweep the White Sox to move into first place ... lose to the Indians.
But it's not just that. It's the inconsistent offense. This has nothing to do with Jim Leyland resting Austin Jackson or anything else. The Tigers' lineup is so inconsistent with scoring runs that you always expect the worst and hope to be pleasantly surprised. Six of the last 12 games, the Tigers have been held to three runs or less. Unsurprisingly, they've lost four of those contests.
Chicago's win Monday night put the Tigers one game back of the White Sox again. All season long, fans have waited for the Tigers to get hot and pull away. With a month left in the season, they're almost out of time.
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