Brewers 3, Tigers 2: Kyle Lobstein bounces back, offense remains missing

DETROIT -- Kyle Lobstein recovered from his last start to give the Detroit Tigers 6-2/3 innings of three-run ball, but the offense was missing in action for the second straight night.  The Tigers lost 3-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers, dropping their record to 23-16 for the season. Of the nine hits, Detroit managed just two runs through seven innings and neither run-scoring ball left the infield.

Lobstein gave the Tigers a solid chance. Outside of the two home runs early in the game, the lefty allowed little traffic until the seventh, giving up four hits total through six innings pitched. He walked just one batter, only the third time he's done so in a start this year. It should have been enough, but it wasn't.

Three hits in the seventh and an RBI single by Carlos Gomez -- who had homered in the first and reached in the third on a strikeout-wild pitch -- ended his night. In truth, Lobstein, who was at 102 pitches before facing Gomez, should have been pulled before the 103rd pitch ended his outing. But Tigers manager Brad Ausmus allowed Lobstein to face one more batter and that pitch resulted in the go-ahead run for the Brewers.

Angel Nesbitt, brought in to replace Lobstein with two on and two out in the seventh, needed one pitch to get Khris Davis to line out to center, though the inning only ended thanks to an outstanding diving catch by Anthony Gose.

The offense essentially took another vacation. After a brief period where the offense got going again, it fizzled out in the last two games. The Tigers had hits, but they just couldn't get those timely knocks. To tack onto that, The hard-hit contact they did make wasn't dropping in for hits. The result was a long-winded, closely contested game between two teams that hadn't faced each other since 2009.

The Tigers had a legitimate chance at tacking on a few runs in the eighth when Ian Kinsler led off with a single, followed by a walk to Miguel Cabrera. But Victor Martinez, despite trying beat out the throw, grounded into a double play. Ausmus challenged the call, but -- apparently -- there just wasn't enough evidence to overturn the call. Kinsler was left stranded at third when J.D. Martinez struck out to end the inning.

ROARS:

Anthony Gose's glove: After a line drive to right in the first inning and a stolen base, Gose's bat fell quiet. His glove, however, did not. In the seventh inning with two outs and two aboard, Brewers' leftfielder Khris Davis nailed a line drive to left-center. It didn't even look like he was going to make it in time, but Gose made a fantastic diving catch, robbing the Brewers of another run and ending the inning.

Small ball: While the Brewers were homering, the Tigers scraped together two runs that never left the infield. A line drive was followed by an RBI groundout by Kinsler in the first. And in the second, Rajai Davis' one-out double and a steal was brought home on an outstanding RBI bunt by James McCann. A throwing error by the catcher, Mike Fiers, allowed to McCann to advance to second. He did not score, though.

HISSES:

Offense: Unfortunately that small ball play wasn't giving the Tigers much run support throughout the game. They got just two runs as a result, despite matching the Brewers for hits, with eight.

The weather: There have been more than enough rainy Tigers home games. Someone change the dial, please.

STREAKS AND STATS:

• The Tigers grounded into their 38th double play of the season in the fourth inning, and continue to lead the majors. They then grounded into their 39th of the year in the eighth.
• Miguel Cabrera's triple in the third inning was the 16th of his major league career, his first of the season, and his first since July 8, 2014, against the Dodgers.
• J.D. Martinez's single in the fourth inning extended his hitting streak to nine games.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs