Just an ugly one.

Rangers 7, Tigers 2

If I was asked to describe what went wrong today, I’d probably mumble “defense” and walk away angry. The Tigers made 2 errors, allowed a run scoring passed ball, lost a ball in the lights for a triple, and probably did something else I’m forgetting to churn out 7 runs for the opposing team. Anibal Sanchez (4-4, 55.1 IP, 2.77 ERA, 1.79 FIP, 2.6 WAR) wasn’t that sharp, but his 2.2 innings, 9 hits, 6 runs (5 ER), 2 BB, 2 K line belies his true effort. He wasn’t good, but he wasn’t that bad. The offense didn’t really deliver, but those kinds of nights are easier to shake off than ones that were wrought with miscues on defense. Yet the 23-18 Tigers will still head into tomorrow’s game with a chance to split a 4 games series on the road against one of the best teams in the league and will send Doug Fister (5-1, 50 IP, 3.06 ERA, 2.76 FIP, 1.5 WAR) to the mound on Sunday Night Baseball to do so. If you haven’t already, I’d also recommend you check out my piece from Saturday on Rick Porcello, whom I argue is on his way to a breakout year.

The Moment: Torii Hunter strikes out, but then singles after the HP umpire rules it a foul ball.