Twins 8, Tigers 6: Defensive miscues again cost Detroit

The game was delayed by an hour and a half due to rain. The Tigers first rewarded their fans by taking a second-inning lead. Then the fun ended. Sounds like a parallel for the season if you really want to make one.

The key inning was the third. And again, one inning seemed to spell disaster for the Tigers. And again you can trace it back to the defense.

Duane Below appeared to have gotten the third out of the inning, but Ramon Santiago muffed the ball off Joe Mauer's bat. A run scored, and the inning was extended. Then, because this is the way things work for Detroit, the next batter homered. Then a single. Then manager Jim Leyland went to his bullpen, and the next homered. Suddenly Minnesota was up 6-3, with all five runs scored after a two-out error.

Four of the Twins' eight runs were unearned. Interestingly, the Tigers have allowed 42 unearned runs, and they're not even the worst in baseball when it comes to that stat.

I could go on. I could point out the Tigers had 10 hits and six runs. I could laud Brennan Boesch for his home run and Ryan Raburn for his RBI double and Austin Jackson for his ninth home run of the season. But you know what, none of that really matters.

This team, right now, stinks.