Eventually, the Detroit Tigers thawed out. But in the nightcap of a frigid split-doubleheader on Sunday night, it was too little, too late.
Once again, the team made a ninth-inning charge. Once again, they lost.
In cold and windy conditions at Comerica Park, the Tigers were swept in a doubleheader, 8-6, by the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are winless in three games on the season.
• Box score
“It was a long day,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We had a chance in the first one, we had a chance in that one. We just gotta keep playing and that’s what they’re doing.”
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After trading blows early, the Pirates pulled ahead for good by hanging a five-spot on right-handed reliever Buck Farmer in the top of the fifth inning. Farmer was impressive in his first inning of work, striking out the side, but crashed shortly thereafter, allowing five runs on four hits and a walk.
From his viewpoint, he couldn’t slow things down in the fifth. His mechanics were out of whack, his pitches coming out too strong on the arm side and not down in the zone.
“Looking back on this one, I should have realized it sooner,” Farmer said. “I realized it when I left the slider up to (David) Freese, but by that point, the damage was done.”
The big blow was a two-run home run by Freese, which put the Pirates up 8-3. The inning began with a single, double and a sacrifice fly, which rookie left fielder Victor Reyes punctuated by missing the cut-off man, allowing the runner on second base — Josh Harrison — to reach third.
Then, after a strikeout, a wild pitch. Then a single. Then, Freese’s home run.
The Tigers, who opened the scoring in the first inning with two runs on a Nicholas Castellanos single and Niko Goodrum double, respectively, mustered three more runs. Two came in the ninth inning, on doubles by Dixon Machado and Miguel Cabrera. But they could not close the gap against Pirates closer Felipe Rivero, who recorded his second save of the day.
Rivero ended the first game — a 1-0 Pirates win — by striking out the side.
Making the spot start as the team’s designated 26th man was left-hander Ryan Carpenter, who was also making his Major League debut. Carpenter had a short outing, throwing three innings. He was touched up in the third inning, allowing back-to-back home runs.
The first, a two-run shot down the left field line by Harrison, was initially ruled a double, but was overturned upon video review. The second, a solo shot by Starling Marte, was a no-doubter.
Carpenter allowed five hits, walked one and struck out three. He threw 70 pitches, which spelled an early exit.
“He just has to attack a little bit more,” Gardenhire said.
Drew VerHagen threw two scoreless innings in relief of Farmer, striking out three.
Jeimer Candelario continued to string together quality at-bats, tripling. James McCann hit an RBI single to tie the game in the fourth inning, before Farmer fell apart.
Said Gardenhire, of Farmer’s fifth-inning struggles: “Couldn’t locate his breaking balls, couldn’t get the ball down.”
To end the fifth, Reyes collided with shortstop Jose Iglesias on a pop fly to shallow left field. He left the game with a right forearm laceration, received stitches, and is considered a disabled list candidate. The Tigers will likely make that decision Monday morning.
“Got a little aggressive on that one but you know what, he had a good day,” Gardenhire said about Reyes, who made a diving catch in the first inning. “Hopefully the kid will be OK. He was exciting out there.”
The Tigers continue their season-opening homestand with three games against the Kansas City Royals, beginning Monday at 1:10 p.m.
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Contact Anthony Fenech: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.
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