Detroit Tigers Get Pummeled by the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park

Pittsburgh, PA—The Detroit Tigers continued to struggle on the road Friday night, losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-1. The Tigers record on the road is now 11-14.

The road is a sore spot for the Tigers after finishing just 29-52 last season. In order to compete for the AL Central, the Tigers must finish at least .500 away from Comerica Park.

Not much went right for the Tigers on Friday night. Brad Penny went into the game winning his last three decisions. During that span, he allowed only two earned runs. Penny was also a career 6-0 in Pittsburgh heading into the game.

Friday night was a different story from beautiful PNC Park. Penny allowed five earned runs in just 5.2 innings. He threw 105 pitches, 52 of which were balls.

Penny's counterpart, Jeff Karstens, pitched six innings, allowing only one earned run and throwing just 75 pitches, 49 of which were strikes.

Although Penny did not locate the strike zone effectively, the Tigers went into the bottom of the sixth tied at 1-1. Ramon Santiago led off the top of the sixth with a solo shot to right field, his first of the year.

The first pitch of the bottom of the sixth is where things went south for Penny and the Tigers. Pirates first baseman Lyle Overbay hit a homer to right field, making the score 2-1, Pirates. After getting one out, Penny allowed a walk and a single.

Now, with men on first and third, Penny induced what seemed to be an inning ending double play, but after 2B Scott Sizemore stepped on second, his throw to first veered to the right of 1B Miguel Cabrera and the runners were safe.

Penny then walked Andrew McCutchen and was pulled from the game.

Brayan Villareal took the reins for the Tigers for the remainder of the sixth, allowing another walk and two doubles. This was the first time Villareal pitched since May 10, and the rust seemed to be evident.

At the end of six innings, the Tigers faced a 7-1 deficit.

The Tigers had their first two baserunners reach safely in the top of the seventh and eighth innings, but could not cash in on the opportunities. Just when it seemed the team was gaining momentum, they lost it.

Neil Walker added a three-run bomb for Pittsburgh in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 10-1, which stood as the final. Walker totaled five RBI on the evening. Of the Pirates' 10 runs, eight were scored with two outs on Friday.

Expect manager Jim Leyland to give his squad a piece of his mind following the game Friday. The team is not playing up to its potential, posting just a 22-22 record to this point in the season. 

Despite the poor all-around performance, the Tigers did have a few bright spots.

Leadoff hitter Austin Jackson hit a double in the sixth inning, extending his hit streak to 12 games. Also, pitcher Joaquin Benoit threw a 1-2-3 seventh inning. This has to bring a sigh of relief to Tigers fans, as Benoit has struggled all season after signing a big offseason contract.

Hopefully tonight's performance by the right-hander in a sign of things to come.

The Tigers will square off against the Pirates at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday. Max Scherzer will take his 6-0 record into the game for the Tigers and face Pittsburgh pitcher Kevin Correia (5-4).