More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Even if Armando Galarraga had pitched well tonight, it wouldn't have mattered, as the Tigers couldn't hit Josh Beckett.

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Take a team that hasn't been hitting or scoring much lately and put them up against a pitcher who's thrown great in his last three or four starts, and more often than not, the result is probably similar to the one we saw at Comerica Park tonight.  Josh Beckett took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, underlining just how much the Detroit Tigers have struggled with their bats recently.  He ended up allowing two hits in 7.2 innings.  

Compounding the problem tonight was a middle relief meltdown by Zach Miner and Nate Robertson, in which they gave up six runs on six hits in one combined inning, killing any chance the Tigers had at a comeback.  And they did have a chance, thanks to errors by Dustin Pedroia, Nick Green, and Mike Lowell, respectively, that led to five runs in the eighth inning.  Boston's bullpen also made the ninth very interesting for the second night in a row, as Takashi Saito loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batsmen. 

Unfortunately, the Tigers let Saito off the hook, as they did with Jonathan Papelbon on Monday night, by not getting that last key hit when they needed it the most.  That probably shouldn't be a surprise, since hits were so difficult to come by throughout the game.  Seven of the Tigers' starters put up a zero in the hit category tonight.  How many games is a team going to win when that happens? 

Purr:

There's no Roar when a team loses by five, gives up 10, and only manages three hits for the night.  But Curtis Granderson's bat eventually showed a pulse, as he broke up Beckett's no-hitter in the seventh, and his three-run triple in the eighth made Tigers fans feel as if a comeback (fueled by the Rally Squirrel, of course) from a 10-0 deficit might actually be possible.

Whimper:

We already mentioned Miner and Robertson's meltdown, but it has to be emphasized that despite the feeble performance from the offense, the Tigers were still in the game.  Armando Galarraga once again wasn't great, giving up four runs in seven innings, but his performance might have been enough to win on some nights.  Any thought of that went out the window as soon as Miner and Robertson came in leaking gasoline. 

The Tigers have some roster decisions to make once Jeremy Bonderman rejoins the team.  (And his rehab stint has officially ended.)  Most of us think Galarraga will get squeezed out to make room for him, but could those two relievers also be part of a roster shuffle early next week?

Comment of the Night:

is this some new strategy for boston?

dick around in the ninth, then get 3 easy outs?

by MackAveKurt

Great stuff tonight in the GameThread!  We got an excellent turnout.  Thanks to everyone who participated.  If only the home team had given us a happy ending...