Detroit Tigers blown out by Tampa Bay Rays in 8-3 loss, deflated early by passed ball
TAMPA, FL — It should've been three up, three down for the Detroit Tigers against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning.
Except it wasn't.
Left-hander Brant Hurter — working as an opener as part of the Tigers' strategy — retired the first three batters he faced, but one of the batters reached safely on a passed ball by catcher Jake Rogers, which extended the inning.
One mistake led to four runs.
The Tigers lost, 8-3, to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, June 21, at George M. Steinbrenner Field. They've been outscored by 11 runs in the first two games of the three-game series.
All four runs in the first inning were unearned, with Hurter exiting at 31 pitches after recording just two outs. From there, right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long — working as the bulk reliever — covered the next 6⅓ innings, though he surrendered four runs.
The Tigers (48-30) now have lost three games in a row following their eighth Saturday loss in a row and their first road series loss since the end of April.
Detroit hasn't won a Saturday game since April 26.
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In the first inning, Yandy Díaz flew out, Brandon Lowe struck out swinging and Junior Caminero struck out swinging.
It was three outs on 13 pitches.
But Lowe advanced to first base when Hurter's sixth-pitch fastball induced a swinging third strike. The ball, however, skipped off Rogers' glove and rolled near the backstop, allowing Lowe to scamper to first base easily.
Ultimately, Rogers' mistake kept the inning alive for the Rays.
And the Rays made the Tigers pay.
Five batters in a row reached safely with two outs: Jonathan Aranda (double), Christopher Morel (walk), Josh Lowe (walk), José Caballero (hit by pitch) and Taylor Walls (single).
Hurter had the bases loaded for three of those five batters, walking Lowe for a 1-0 deficit, hitting Caballero for a 2-0 deficit and allowing a single to Walls for a 4-0 deficit.
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Sawyer Gipson-Long eats innings
The Tigers used Hurter, a left-hander, as an opener ahead of Gipson-Long, a right-hander, in an effort to neutralize the Rays' lineup, which featured three left-handed hitters within the top six spots in the batting order.
One problem: Neither Hurter nor Gipson-Long were successful against the Rays.
Gipson-Long — who recorded the final out in the first inning — allowed four runs on six hits and zero walks with three strikeouts across 6⅓ innings. It was his fourth appearance since returning from elbow surgery and hip surgery.
He gave up three solo home runs: Danny Jansen hit a changeup at the bottom of the strike zone in the fourth inning, Caminero clobbered a middle-middle fastball in the fourth and Morel destroyed an up-and-in fastball in the seventh.
The Morel homer made it 8-1 Rays.
Gipson-Long has a 4.58 ERA in 17⅔ innings, spanning four games (one start).
Too little, too late
The Tigers trailed 8-1 entering the eighth inning.
In the eighth, the Tigers had runners on first and second when pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones replaced Zach McKinstry, facing left-handed reliever Mason Montgomery.
Jones worked the at-bat for 12 pitches, including five straight foul balls, before delivering an RBI double in the 13th pitch, a near-middle-middle 98.9 mph four-seam fastball.
After that, the Rays replaced Montgomery with right-handed reliever Kevin Kelly. The Tigers pinch-hit Dillon Dingler for Parker Meadows, with Dingler providing a sacrifice fly.
The double and sac fly trimmed the Tigers' deficit to 8-3.
Pinch-hitter Trey Sweeney, who replaced Rogers, struck out to end the eighth, stranding a runner on second.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jake Rogers passed ball puts Detroit Tigers in early hole in 8-3 loss
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