It's "difficult to accept," said A.J. Hinch. "Difficult to explain." Just a couple week ago, the Tigers had a 10-game lead in the AL Central and a playoff berth all but secured. Now the season is slipping away. The Guardians could pull within one game of the Tigers by Saturday night. The Tigers could be playing for their lives next week.
One strike away from a much-needed win, the Tigers blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning Saturday against the Braves and took a crushing 6-5 loss, their fifth in a row, eighth out of nine and 17th out of 24.
"It’s hard trying to put into words what is going on," said Hinch. "But I know how much we fought today, I know how well we played, some big emotional swings, and an absolute punch right to the face."
The Tigers got the swing they desperately needed in the seventh inning from Spencer Torkelson, a two-out, two-run homer to put them ahead 5-3. Kyle Finnegan gave back one run in the eighth when rookie Nacho Alvarez, who entered the day with zero career home runs, popped his second of the day, and Will Vest allowed two hits on four singles in the ninth.
Hinch and the Tigers used six relievers after starter Keider Montero went three innings, which worked well until the two best arms in their bullpen couldn't close it out.
"Every game feels like a playoff game right now, just trying to do our best to get to the finish line," said Hinch. "That’s what’s so frustrating about today. We could see the finish line — we just couldn’t get there. And our guys, rightfully so, are not feeling great."
Meanwhile in Minnesota, the Guardians beat the Twins for their ninth win in a row and have a chance to make it 10 straight in the second game of a double-header Saturday night. The Guardians swept the Tigers in Detroit this week and host them in Cleveland for three more next week.
The Red Sox and Astros, who hold the final two wild card spots in the AL, were only a half-game behind the Tigers entering Saturday night, which could set up a do-or-die series next weekend between Detroit and Boston at Fenway Park.
After dominating the AL Central for most of the season, the Tigers are on the verge of giving it away. They could miss the playoffs in the process.
"Our guys are all-in," said Hinch. "This is absolutely grinding at these guys. It’s not a care factor. It’s not a concern about the work or the conversations or the mood or the vibe. It’s a concern about the results, and our guys know it. I love these guys, I’m going to continue to back ‘em because of all the good that we have done and all the good that we can do.
"Despite all of this — what a miserable ride this has been for a short period of time — guess who controls our own destiny? We do. We just gotta go out and play."
That's true. The Tigers are still in first place, and still have a 71.2 percent of winning the division, per Fan Graphs, and an 87.2 percent chance of making the playoffs. But five days ago, their playoffs odds were 99.5 percent, their division odds 98.5 percent.
Now they're in a nosedive they can't seem to stop. Asked if it's time for a team meeting to relieve some of the pressure, Hinch said, "We do it every day. Every day. We are around each other close to 15 hours a day."
"It’s just more about continuing to grind and fight and play. I know I’m out of words today, because I’m tired of talking about it. And I think we should stop talking, and really just get to the baseball -- because that’s what’s going to ultimately get us in a better spot."