There are losses, and then there is whatever the Tigers did Friday in Cleveland . Detroit had leads in both games of a split doubleheader, got walked off in both games, and somehow managed to make a 7-6 loss in the afternoon and a 4-3 loss in 10 innings at night feel completely different and equally frustrating.
The first game was bad enough. Detroit built a 6-1 lead before Cleveland came all the way back, with Brayan Rocchio hitting a grand slam to tie it in the fourth and then ending it himself with a walk-off home run in the ninth. The Tigers entered the day already struggling badly, and the loss extended a stretch in which they had dropped 15 of 19 games. Then they came back a few hours later, got arguably Andrew Sears' best Major League performance yet, built another multi-run lead and somehow did it all over again.
And man, this one was another case of waiting for the shoe to drop again.
The frustrating part is that Sears gave Detroit exactly what it needed. Making only his third Major League appearance after allowing five runs in four innings during his debut in Kansas City, the 23-year-old left-hander looked much more settled against Cleveland. Sears worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing four hits, one run and two walks while striking out four.
Cleveland did not score against him until Nathaniel Lowe doubled home José Ramírez with two outs in the sixth, trimming what had been a 3-0 Detroit advantage to 3-1. Beau Brieske then came in and struck out Daniel Schneemann to finish the inning.
That outing matters beyond Friday night. Sears was acquired at the deadline and is getting an opportunity to show whether he can be part of this pitching staff going forward. Against a Cleveland lineup fighting for a playoff spot, he located better, stayed out of the middle of the plate more consistently and did not unravel when traffic appeared. Considering how his MLB debut went, this was a real step forward.
Detroit also did enough offensively early. Hao-Yu Lee drove in Zach McKinstry in the third, then Kevin McGonigle doubled home Gleyber Torres to make it 2-0. Eduardo Valencia added another RBI single in the fifth after Torres singled and Dillon Dingler doubled, giving Sears a three-run cushion.
There was an opportunity for even more, though, and that became important later. The Tigers had runners at second and third with nobody out in the third inning after McGonigle's double. They did not score either runner. Lee was thrown out at home on Spencer Torkelson's fielder's choice, part of a collision that eventually forced Lee from the game with a left shin contusion. Detroit also had runners on second and third with nobody out in the fifth and managed only Valencia's RBI single.
Against a team like Cleveland, and with the state of this Tigers bullpen, three runs never really felt like enough.
Brieske did his job. Jacob Waguespack did not. Steven Kwan walked to begin the eighth, and Travis Bazzana followed by driving a two-run homer to right-center field. Just like that, 3-1 became 3-3. Sears' excellent night was reduced to a footnote, and the Tigers were once again trying to survive a game they had controlled.
Detroit had another opportunity in the 10th and wasted that one too. Javier Báez entered as the automatic runner at second. Dingler grounded out without advancing him. McGonigle moved Báez to third, but Valencia grounded out to end the inning. Three ground balls, no run, and Cleveland was given the same opportunity in the bottom half.
Kenley Jansen actually got the automatic runner erased when Colt Keith fielded Rocchio's ground ball and threw to McGonigle at third. Cleveland essentially had to start the inning over with a runner at first and one out. Then Rocchio stole second. He stole third. Kwan flew out, putting Detroit one out away from escaping, and Bazzana finished the night the same way he had changed it in the eighth, ripping a ground-ball single into center field to score Rocchio. Game over, 4-3.
Two games. Two blown leads. Two walk-offs.
The Tigers can point to the young roster, injuries and the larger developmental picture, and all of those things remain part of evaluating what is happening. Sears was legitimately encouraging. McGonigle had another extra-base hit. Valencia drove in a run. There are still individual performances worth watching.
But at some point you also have to describe what is directly in front of you. Detroit led the first game 6-1 and lost. They led the second game 3-0 behind a young starter pitching his ass off and lost again. They had multiple opportunities to add runs, failed to do it, gave up another late lead and could not bring home an automatic runner from second base in extra innings.
