The Tigers lost their 3rd consecutive game and 4th of their last 5 by falling in extra innings to the White Sox.

Max Scherzer started, went 6 complete, allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, struck out 6 and walked 3.  Much like Fister yesterday, Scherzer was cruising through the first 3 innings but needed 36 pitches to get out of the 4th.  The White Sox scored 3 runs in the 4th with the damage coming on a 2 RBI triple from ex-Tiger Avisail Garcia.  Garcia then scored on an Infante throwing error.  The Sox led 3-1 after the 4th.

The Tigers had plenty of chances to score but just couldn’t get the hit to break the game open. On the bright side, they did battle back from a 3-1 deficit with single runs in the 6th and 8th to send the game into extra innings.

Miggy was 0-5 today but hit 3 rockets, one to short and 2 right back up the middle, but had nothing to show for it.  Also, Andy Dirks came into the game to replace Tui.  Readers of this blog know that I’ve been hard on Dirksy and while he was 0-3, I thought he had 3 good at bats.

In Dirks’ first at bat he hit the ball hard but it was right at the left fielder.  His next at bat, he got himself into a 3-1 count and looked like he just missed a fastball.  His final at bat, I thought was his most impressive.  He fell behind 0-2 but worked the count full before flying out to Garcia in right.  He had no hits but sometimes when a player is struggling and puts together good at bats, it is a sign that he is coming out of his funk.  Let’s hope so.

Another encouraging sign is that it looks like Jose Iglesias and Omar Infante are a very good double play combination.  Strong defense up the middle is always a recipe for success.

Basically, this series in Chicago has been a disaster.  Let’s hope they can salvage one with Ricky on the hill tomorrow afternoon.

FYI:  The Royals lost tonight but the Indians won.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural