The Detroit Tigers were beaten 10-2 by the New York Mets on Tuesday night in New York, a loss that pushed them to 19-23 and deepened a skid that has now reached 11 defeats in 16 games.
Detroit’s sloppiness helped decide it. The Tigers committed two errors, went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and watched Gage Workman throw a potential double-play ball into right field in the sixth inning, turning the play into two runs for New York.
Jack Flaherty could not steady them. He gave up three earned runs and was removed with one out in the fourth inning after allowing three walks and striking out two. That came after his previous start against the Red Sox, when he looked far sharper with 10 strikeouts in five innings, one walk and 14 whiffs.
Before the game, manager A.J. Hinch made clear he still believes Flaherty can drive the rotation when he is right. Hinch said, “I asked him if I need to be out of the dugout for him to punch out 10,” and added, “He can be tremendous,” before expanding on the pitcher’s ceiling: “We've seen this guy be really dominant, be really effective, challenge a strike zone, be emotional on the mound, competitively, and want the ball in every situation.”
Hinch later called the outing “a step in the right direction,” and said Flaherty “challenged him in the strike zone and got swing and miss.” The numbers, though, told a different story. The Mets piled up 13 hits and six walks, and Detroit never found enough clean innings or timely contact to keep the game close.
The loss came while the Tigers were also dealing with injuries, another layer in a stretch that has worn thin quickly. They entered the night trying to stop a slide that has put them below.500, and instead left with another reminder of how difficult it has been to protect leads, finish innings and cash in with runners on base.
The Mets, who came in at 16-25 and had lost three of their previous four while scoring six runs or more only twice in their last 15 games, needed just enough offense to take advantage of Detroit’s mistakes. A.J. Ewing, called up by New York on Tuesday and ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 prospect for the club, reached base in his first plate appearance in the second inning with two on and one out. That gave the Mets another jolt on a night when they kept pressure on from the start.
Workman’s night also underscored how quickly the Tigers are asking young players to carry innings with little margin for error. The 21-year-old rookie Kevin McGonigle has already exhilarated Tigers fans, and Workman was called up on Sunday, but the growing pains showed plainly in a game Detroit could not afford to give away. For the Tigers, the next step is no longer about hoping one clean performance will change the mood. They need one before the losses keep piling up.
