Like many of our friends throughout the SB Nation network, we are simulating the 2020 MLB season with MLB The Show 20. While we are unable to stream the games as they would otherwise be happening, we will try to get ahead of the curve and post about the games on the same day they would have taken place. Or, you know, at least get them back on schedule. Now, onto the recap!
The simulated Detroit Tigers were shut out for the second time in less than a week, dropping a 4-0 decision to the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday. The Tigers amassed just two hits in the loss, as A’s starter Frankie Montas went seven strong for his sixth win of the year.
There’s not much to say about the Tigers offense here. They picked up just two hits and drew a few walks, but rarely threatened Montas, who was dominant right from the start. C.J. Cron’s single to lead off the second might have represented Detroit’s best scoring threat, but any chance of plating a run was quickly snuffed out by an inning-ending double play ball.
The A’s put the Tigers in an early hole in the top of the second, and added on after that. Matt Chapman poked a single to right field to open up the second, and moved to third on a Stephen Piscotty single. Designated hitter Seth Brown followed with a routine grounder to second, but Jonathan Schoop wasn’t quite quick enough to turn the double play, allowing Chapman to score the first run of the game.
After going quietly in the third, the A’s added two more runs in the fourth. Matt Olson singled to right field to lead off the inning, and moved up to third base on a Khris Davis single. Thanks to a high throw in from the outfield, Davis moved up to second on the play, giving the A’s two runners in scoring position. Fulmer struck out Piscotty for the second out of the frame, but Seth Brown came through again, this time with a two-out single to stretch Oakland’s lead to 3-0.
Fulmer made it through a tidy fifth inning, but things unraveled quickly for him in the sixth. Olson beat the shift with a double down the left field line, then Chapman reached base on an error from Jeimer Candelario. A groundout moved both runners into scoring position before a second Candelario error allowed Piscotty to reach, loading the bases with one out. Tyler Alexander was able to wiggle out of the jam, though, keeping his team within striking distance.
Unfortunately for him (and Fulmer), the Tigers offense wasn’t able to put anything together in the late innings. What little hard contact they were able to muster against Montas went just foul, or directly to an A’s defender. They weren’t able to get anything going against the bullpen either, and fell to their third loss against the A’s in four games this season.
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