After 18 innings of baseball today at Tiger Stadium, the Tigers are now officially back to their losing ways after a one-game hiatus yesterday.
They lost to the White Sox, 6-4 and 7-4---the second game a bitter loss punctuated by yet another ill-timed home run off reliever John Hiller.
The Tigers (15-27) have lost 10 of their last 11 games and 15 of 19.
"It's just something we have to battle our way through," said manager Ralph Houk after the sweep at the hands of the Chisox. "We have too much baseball to play to fold our tents."
Too much baseball to play? That could be good or bad news, the way the Tigers are playing, and the way they are being treated by their fans.
It wasn't just Hiller who was rocked with boos. During both games, the Tiger Stadium crowd of 25,665 found plenty of opportunities to voice their displeasure.
The Tigers are now 8-16 at home and a schedule that was heavily weighted with home games early hasn't proved to be an advantage at all.
In both games today, the White Sox broke a 4-4 tie to move ahead for good.
In Game 1, Bill Stein and Jorge Orta hit back-to-back two-out singles to put the White Sox ahead 6-4 in the sixth inning.
The White Sox scored four times off starter Mickey Lolich in the first inning, highlighted by consecutive home runs by Deron Johnson and Buddy Bradford.
But the Tigers battled back, showing determination not to go back to their losing ways after yesterday's victory broke an eight-game losing streak.
They scored three times in the third, with Willie Horton's two-run double being the key hit. Horton added a sacrifice fly in the fifth to knot the score, 4-4.
After the White Sox took the lead again, the Tigers went out mostly meekly the rest of the way. Wilbur Wood went eight innings for the win, and Rich Gossage pitched the ninth for the save.
In Game 2, the White Sox again drew first blood, plating two runs in the third on a two-out, two-run triple by Orta that was made possible by a Nate Colbert error that kept the inning alive.
The Tigers used sloppy defense by the White Sox (error by Bucky Dent, the first of four in the game by Chicago) to tie the game in the fourth. Colbert's single with two outs scored the tying run.
The Tigers actually led, 4-3, heading into the seventh, but it didn't last long. A Tom Veryzer error led to a tying single by Pat Kelly.
As in Game 1, once the Tigers reached four runs their offense pretty much stalled.
The White Sox threatened in the eighth but didn't score, a double play ball ending their rally.
But then came the ninth, and in that frame the White Sox didn't make a mistake---but Hiller did.
With two runners on and one out, Hiller, who had been brought in to face three Chicago lefty bats in a row, hung a curve ball to Carlos May and May destroyed it. The ball went about 10 rows into the right field upper deck.
The boos cascaded as May rounded the bases. 7-4, Chicago.
May's three-run homer in the ninth inning of Game 2 triggered an onslaught of boos
Hiller's (0-3) ERA is now an unsightly 6.12 and he's surrendered five homers in 25 innings.
"Let's face it, I'm not getting the job done," Hiller lamented afterward. "This is embarrassing and unacceptable."
When asked if the boos bothered him, Hiller shot back, "What do YOU think?"
Houk wasn't so sure.
"John has been booed before, and he'll be booed again," the manager said. "That's the life of a relief pitcher."
Houk was asked if he's lost confidence in his 32-year-old lefty.
"Nope," was his one word reply.
Tigers fans would vehemently disagree.
Next up for the Tigers is their first West Coast swing of the season: three games each at California and Oakland, followed by two games at Kansas City.
The road couldn't come at a better time.
Notes: Deron Johnson hit a home run in Game 2, also...Lolich on his tough first inning in Game 1: "I threw beach balls up there, and they did what you're supposed to do to beach balls"...10 errors were committed in the DH, combined (seven by Chicago, three by Detroit)...It is unclear when was the last time a team committed seven errors in a doubleheader yet won both games...Chicago manager Chuck Tanner used two vastly different lineups and batting orders in the twinbill, with lefty Lolich and right-hander Lerrin LaGrow slated to pitch, whereas Houk used mostly the same lineup in both games, with two southpaws (Wood and Claude Osteen) starting for Chicago. The Tigers' only change was Terry Humphrey in for Bill Freehan at catcher in Game 2.
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Tigers record: 15-27 (actual 20-22)
Home: 8-16
Away: 7-11
Last 10: 1-9
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