Bullpen Disaster Brings Tigers' Worst Fears to Light in ALDS Game 1 Loss
The Detroit Tigers' bullpen was their glaring weakness during the regular season, as late-inning collapses at times overshadowed their top-flight starting rotation and potent offense.
That trend carried over into Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles. The Tigers bullpen coughed up eight runs in the eighth inning en route to a 12-3 loss in the opener.
The game was closer than the final score suggested. The Tigers trailed by just one run, 4-3, heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. And then the wheels fell off for Detroit.
Starter Max Scherzer recorded the first out of the inning before a double by Alejandro De Aza signaled the end of his night. Relieving the 2013 AL Cy Young Award winner was right-hander Joba Chamberlain, who promptly allowed two runs (one earned) without retiring a batter.
Chamberlain might have fared better if not for an error by usually sure-handed shortstop Andrew Romine. However, he was unable to pitch around the blunder and in turn opened the door for what turned out to be a disastrous inning.
"It's a team effort, and in baseball, team effort is if someone makes an error, you hope the pitcher picks 'em up," said manager Brad Ausmus in his postgame press conference.
"Tonight, we just didn't get it done. It's as simple as that."
Right-hander Joakim Soria replaced Chamberlain and allowed four of the five batters he faced to reach base, three via hits and one by means of an intentional walk. All four would come around to score in the inning.
Soria managed to record the second out in the eighth before giving way to left-hander Phil Coke, who surrendered the Tigers’ final two runs of the night while giving up a hit and a walk.
The three Detroit relievers combined to allow eight runs on six hits and two walks in just two-thirds of an inning. Baltimore sent 12 batters to the plate in the frame.
The Tigers made a concentrated effort to bolster the back end of their bullpen prior to the trade deadline, acquiring Soria from the Rangers to set up for closer Joe Nathan.
However, the move didn’t impact the team’s bullpen as hoped. Soria pitched to a 4.91 ERA over 13 appearances after joining the Tigers and spent some time on the disabled list.
Nathan fared better over the final two months of the regular season, saving 14 of 16 games while registering a 3.26 ERA. However, he also allowed 20 hits over 19.1 innings and walked more batters (13) than he struck out (10).
Even though Nathan turned in a respectable performance down the stretch, it did little to hide the fact that the Tigers had one of baseball’s worst bullpens this year.
Detroit’s bullpen ranked toward the bottom of the American League in most stat categories: 13th in ERA (4.29), 14th in WHIP (1.48), 14th in strikeouts (385) and 15th in opponents’ OPS (.752).
The collapse Thursday also highlighted a need for the team’s starters, namely Scherzer, Justin Verlander and David Price, to work as deep into games as possible.
But Ausmus has a secret weapon in starter-turned-reliever Anibal Sanchez.
The only question, according to ESPN Insider Mike Petriello (subscription required), is how Detroit's skipper will use the right-hander moving forward.
"No one is expecting him to suddenly be the closer, but it would also seem to be a waste if he's saved for long relief, watching idly by while a lesser pitcher kicks away a game in the late innings."
Sanchez was activated from the disabled list Sept. 23 and assigned to the team’s bullpen, but he made just one relief appearance over the final week of the regular season.
However, the lack of recent work won’t discourage Ausmus from using Sanchez in the postseason.
"That being said, Sanchie will obviously be available, and I'm still fully confident in him pitching in high-stress situations," said Ausmus, via Jason Beck of MLB.com. "This is a guy who has excellent stuff. He's battle-tested, and I don't think he will have a problem coming out of the bullpen."
The good news is that with a 12:07 p.m. ET start time for Game 2 Friday, the Tigers will have little time to dwell on Thursday’s crushing defeat.
"It's a five-game series," said Joba Chamberlain. "It's Game 1. It's not the end of the world. We'll get back after it tomorrow. It's a quick turnaround."
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