DETROIT -- The return of Kyle Lobstein was less than impressive. He gave up six runs and didn't make it out of the fifth, while the offense went quietly by the wayside. The Detroit Tigers lost 8-1 to the Cleveland Indians, for their 14th loss in the last 20 games.
In his first start after landing on the DL in late May, Lobstein was quite rough. Which, quite honestly, was to be expected to a point. His pitches weren't sharp, there was little to no life on them, and he couldn't command the strike zone. He failed to make it out of the fifth inning and left with the bases loaded. Drew VerHagen compounded the problem by hitting the first batter he faced and then walked one to force in two of Lobstein's runs. At the end, the Tigers trailed a messy 6-0.
And of course the offense picked a dandy time to take a vacation with spot starter Josh Tomlin filling in for Corey Kluber. They had one hit, courtesy of Anthony Gose to start the game -- he later struck out twice -- and then didn't get another hit until the sixth. Tomlin had retired 11 Tigers batters until a two-out walk by J.D. Martinez broke it up in the fourth. For the game, the Tigers had four hits and a walk.
To get on the board, it took the youngster Dixon Machado and Miguel Cabrera being Miggy. Machado, who'd made a fabulous catch in the top of the frame, drilled a double to start the sixth, which Cabrera followed with an RBI single to put the Tigers on the board. Sure, the Tigers were trailing, but this has become the norm. For Machado to show off in his first night back at Detroit and see Cabrera keep doing what he does best, well, you need a few highlights. I can only spin this so many ways, and those were two pretty good moments.
ROARS:
Dixon Machado: Not only did he destroy a leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth, the kid made a ridiculously beautiful play in the top of the sixth. A smoked liner was headed up the middle when Machado dived, making a snowcone catch to rob Jason Kipnis of a hit. Have a night, Machado.
Miguel Cabrera: Toppled the Indians' dreams of shutting out the Tigers with an RBI single in the sixth. He also made a pretty sweet defensive catch in the top of the frame against Francisco Lindor -- whose name reminds me of Lindor truffles, don't judge -- that deserves mentioning.
HISSES:
Kyle Lobstein: In his first start after coming off the DL, Lobstein was up and down until he collapsed. Well, to be more precise he imploded. A two-run shot and back-to-back doubles, as well as loading the bases resulted in an ugly line.
WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:
Source: FanGraphs