The Oakland Athletics came into Comerica Park on a 10-game losing streak. If you didn't know that, Mario Impemba mentioned it plenty of times during the FSN Detroit broadcast, as if to underline the fact that this isn't a team the Detroit Tigers should be losing to. (The A's had also lost 18 of their past 20.)
Maybe it was the hangover from their just-completed 10-game road trip, but the Tigers just had no energy tonight. They showed some life in the second inning, scoring what turned out to be their only two runs of the game on Marcus Thames' two-run homer. And three of Detroit's five hits were in this inning. They just gassed out after that.
Kenny Rogers was hardly great tonight, but he was good enough. Unfortunately, even if he had thrown better, he probably wouldn't have gotten enough support from his lineup. Once Oakland added a fourth run on a homer from Emil Brown to lead off the sixth inning and give the A's a two-run lead, the game seemed effectively over. The Tigers didn't get another hit after that, only getting runners on base from two walks and a fielder's choice.
We know most Tigers fans already think the season is finished. Do the players feel that way, too? Sure looked that way tonight.