Athletics 7, Tigers 5: Late-arriving offense can't dig out of Shane Greene's deficit

Four batters and one throwing error (by Tigers starting pitcher Shane Greene himself) into the second inning, Detroit trailed by three runs in a game that felt, for all practical purposes, over. And it was. Detroit failed to put up any real offense before the ninth inning, but made it exciting in the end before falling 7-5 to the Athletics.

Swept out of Comerica Park, the losing streak has reached seven, matching the 2011 streak that was the longest since before the Tigers' rebirth in 2006.

The Tigers tried to rally in the ninth but trailed 7-1 at that point. Daniel Fields, in his MLB debut, doubled to right field then scored on a single by Ian Kinsler a batter later. J.D. Martinez extended the inning with a single of his own, and Tyler Collins homered to right field. At that point the Tigers trailed by two runs and had two outs to work with. But neither Nick Castellanos nor pinch-hitter James McCann could get on base, so that's as close as they got.

Greene pitched into the fifth inning after the second inning snafu before being lifted. He gave up six runs (four earned,the other unearned run occurring when Fields let a ball get by him in left field in the fifth) on eight hits and two walks. He struck out two. The bullpen bridged the rest, allowing only a run with Tom Gorzelanny on the mound while Blaine Hardy, Al Alburqueque and Joba Chamberlain all worked scoreless days.

Fields made his MLB debut for the Tigers in the top of the third inning when Yoenis Cespedes left with flu-like symptoms. The Detroit native and son of former Tigers hitting coach Bruce Fielders struck out twice looking to begin his career before the double.

Ian Kinsler went 2-for-3 with a walk. Miguel Cabrera extended his on-base streak to 23 games with an RBI single in the sixth.

ROARS:

Ian Kinsler. Two hits and a walk, driving in a run in the ninth inning.

Tyler Collins. Three-run home run in the ninth inning cut the game to 7-5.

Daniel Fields. Sure he made a fielding error and struck out a few times, but he also hit a double to start the ninth inning rally while making his big league debut.

HISSES:

Shane Greene. He couldn't get outs. He threw the ball into center field on what could have been a double play in the second inning. By the time his day ended his team was down, 6-0.

Bryan Holaday. 0-for-3.

STREAKS AND STATS

• Miguel Cabrera extended his on-base streak to 23 consecutive games with an RBI single in the sixth inning.
• The Tigers' seven-game losing streak is their longest since April 26-May 2, 2011.
• Tyler Collins' HR in the ninth was his first of the year.
• Daniel Fields' double in the ninth was his first MLB hit.

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Source: FanGraphs