Upbeat Tigers try to 'flush' 1st series loss 

DETROIT -- The Tigers lost a series for the first time this season on Thursday. That says a lot about how the first two weeks have unfolded against expectations.

Detroit didn’t show very many signs of life in a 4-0 rubber-game loss to Cleveland, a credit to the work Shane Bieber put in for seven scoreless innings and a sign of the Tigers’ aggressiveness haunting them. The few good signs they had came largely from Niko Goodrum, which says a lot about how the start of the season has gone for Detroit’s do-everything cleanup hitter.

Thirteen games into the schedule, however, the Tigers appear very much alive.

“First series loss, I don’t think anybody’s down in the dumps in here or anything,” catcher Grayson Greiner said. “We’ve got a series on the road in Minnesota. Flush today and go try to win a series in Minnesota."

With an impromptu off-day Friday thanks to the winter storm that hit Minneapolis and the Upper Midwest, that flush shouldn’t be difficult. Detroit’s 8-5 record is four games better than its start through 13 games last season, when it had similar offensive struggles. The Tigers are the lone team in the American League with a winning record and a negative run differential, having been outscored by six runs on the season but posting a 2.62 team ERA that ranks third in the AL.

Spencer Turnbull was the second pitcher this series to have a supbar outing, following Jordan Zimmermann two days earlier. Like Zimmermann, Turnbull started on two extra days of rest thanks to scheduled off-days last Friday and this past Monday since his start in the home opener on April 4. Turnbull didn’t cite that as a reason, nor would he cite the chilly conditions that included a 43-degree first-pitch temperature, but he acknowledged he was out of sync.

“I’m not going to make excuses. I definitely had a hard time finding my slider for whatever reason,” Turnbull said. “But it was cold last week, too, and I had my slider then."

Turnbull threw 18 sliders, drew three swinging strikes and no called ones, according to Statcast. His curveball was somewhat more effective with four swings and misses, including first-inning strikeouts of Leonys Martin and Jose Ramirez, but the Indians eventually sat on his fastball.

Detroit tried to support Turnbull defensively with a diving catch from Dustin Peterson in left field to end the third inning, and a throw home and running catch from right fielder Goodrum on consecutive plays to close the fourth. Add in JaCoby Jones’ coverage in center in his return from the injured list, and it was probably the Tigers’ best defensive effort in the outfield this season.

But none of it sparked an offense that ranks last in the Majors with 33 runs scored, a .191 average and a .573 OPS. After creating opportunities against Corey Kluber and pounding Trevor Bauer, Detroit was too aggressive against Shane Bieber and fell into the trap of chasing pitches down and out of the zone.

That remains the question for a lineup that doesn’t boast much experience beyond the top three spots, though Goodrum is growing up quickly in the cleanup spot.

“We're playing hard, absolutely, coming to the ballpark like you're supposed to do and competing,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Yeah, we're doing that very well. We still haven't really swung the bats really well. We haven't had one of those days where we're knocking it all over the field. And I look for that to happen."

Goodrum was the Tigers’ first baserunner off Bieber when he drew a leadoff walk in the second inning, and he accounted for Detroit’s first base hit off Bieber with his two-out liner into right field in the fourth. He was the only Tiger to reach third base against Bieber thanks to a steal of second and a wild pitch following his walk.

Add in a Miller error at second base, and Goodrum reached base three times. The only other Tigers on base were back-to-back singles from Greiner and Jordy Mercer with one out in the fifth. Bieber (1-0) stranded them like he did Goodrum, completing seven innings of three-hit ball with one walk and six strikeouts.

“Obviously offensively we're not where we want to be and where I think we're going to be as a unit,” Greiner said, “but our pitchers have picked us up. Sitting here 8-5 and we haven't hit close to our potential. We have to do a better job of picking our pitchers up and continue to get better every day in every facet."