Their eighth straight loss was a 6-2 ho-hum affair to the Minnesota Twins this afternoon at Tiger Stadium.
The Twins banged out 16 hits, the Tigers seven. Yet the Twins didn't really put the game away until the ninth, when they added two runs against beleaguered reliver John Hiller for a 6-1 lead.
But even though the score was respectable until then, the Tigers never really gave the impression that they were truly in the game.
"Very lethargic," was how manager Ralph Houk described his team. "We looked like we thought it was a night game."
The game was actually scoreless headed into the seventh, despite the Twins out-hitting the Tigers, 8-2 at that point.
The big blow was Bobby Darwin's three-run homer off starter Joe Coleman (3-6), which came after Coleman intentionally walked Rod Carew with first base open.
Danny Meyer slammed his sixth home run of the season into the right field upper deck in the Tigers' half of the seventh, making the score 4-1 Minnesota.
Not until the ninth, with the score out of hand, did the Tigers put together a rally. They loaded the bases but only scored one run and left the sacks filled.
Bobby Darwin's three-run homer broke a scoreless tie in the seventh
The Tigers (14-25) continue their May free fall; they've lost eight in a row and 13 of 16. They are 7-16 for the month.
"This is baseball," said DH Willie Horton, who had two hits. "It's a long season and there will be peaks and valleys. We need to find some peaks."
There haven't been too many for the Tigers this season. They were over .500 (3-2) once this season, and the closest they've been to the break even mark since then was when they were 11-12.
Since then, the 3-13 skid has occurred.
The Tigers' last victory remains the 16-3 romp over the Twins in Minnesota onMay 19. Not once in the eight-game losing streak have the Tigers scored more than three runs.
Twins starter Jim Hughes struck out 10 Tigers hitters, walking none in 7.1 innings.
Next up for the Tigers is an off day before the Chicago White Sox visit for a weekend series.
Notes: 2B Gary Sutherland (0-for-4) is in a 1-for-16 slump...The hideous season of 1B Nate Colbert continues. He was 0-for-3 (all strikeouts), dropping his average to a shockingly low .119...Hiller's struggles out of the bullpen have raised some eyebrows, but Houk stood behind the lefty. "John's a veteran. He'll work his way out of this," Houk said. Hiller is the Tigers' only left-handed reliever, so Houk has good reason to stick with the 32-year-old.
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Tigers record: 14-25 (actual 18-21)
Home: 7-14
Away: 7-11
Last 10: 1-9
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