Tigers 'going to need to do better' vs. Central

CHICAGO -- The boos rained down from White Sox fans at Guaranteed Rate Field after Wily Peralta’s second-inning fastball hit César Hernández on his right elbow Friday night, four days after the Tigers and Sox cleared the benches at Comerica Park. This time, there was no reaction, no belief there was intent against a second baseman who hadn’t been hit by a pitch all season.

For all the questions of lingering tensions between two longtime rivals Friday, the only reminders of Monday’s incident were a lengthy meeting at home plate among managers A.J. Hinch and Tony La Russa and the umpiring crew, plus the boos after the hit-by-pitch. While the White Sox focused their energies on the field, the Tigers searched fruitlessly for a spark in an 8-1 loss.

• Box score

Though Detroit’s improvement this season has long since been demonstrated, Friday’s loss continued a late fade, having lost six of its last eight. The latest defeat, combined with a Cleveland win at Texas, eliminated any possibility of the Tigers finishing second in the AL Central. They’re now locked into third place, though the Royals could match them with two wins and two Detroit defeats.

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The Tigers’ recent losses against the White Sox, Twins and Royals continued an underlying trend to an otherwise encouraging season. While Detroit made a statement with strong play and series wins over contending teams such as the Rays, Blue Jays, Yankees, Mariners, Astros, Cardinals and Brewers, the Tigers are 29-45 within their division, having lost the season series to every AL Central rival for the third time in five years (including the abbreviated 2020 season). They avoided any disastrous marks like last year’s 1-9 record against the White Sox or their 1-18 record against Cleveland in 2019, but their recent struggles cost them chances to win season series from the Twins and Royals.

It’s a trend that obviously has to change if the Tigers are going to contend, even in the Wild Card system. Baseball’s unbalanced schedule puts a premium on division success.

“I think every team is going to match up differently within the division,” Hinch said before Friday’s loss. “You play 162 games; every win counts the same. We focus a ton on our own division because we play them the most. And quite honestly, it’s the motivation leaving this season: We’ve not played well in the division.

“Each of the teams in this division has beat us in the season series, and we’re going to need to do better if we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win the division.”

Part of the struggles potentially come from timing. The Tigers’ 9-24 start to the season included a 4-13 mark against division rivals, and their current struggles come during a stretch run that has included injuries to relievers Gregory Soto and José Cisnero, outfielders Derek Hill and Victor Reyes, and innings limitations for young starters Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal.

Still, even with limited goals to play for by season’s end, the Tigers have struggled against teams in similar predicaments, such as Minnesota and Kansas City. Detroit hasn’t produced much offense against opposing starters, save for Thursday’s outburst against Twins rookie Joe Ryan, but the Tigers have rallied against bullpens.

“I look at some of the left-handedness of both the pitchers on the opponent and some of their hitters. I don’t think we’ve controlled that,” Hinch said. “We’ve been good, not great, against some of the [pitchers with] spin in the division.

“Certainly some of these teams are built with incredible pitching staffs. You look at Chicago, look at what Kansas City is doing; Cleveland has always been really good. So I think year to year it might fluctuate a bit, but this should wake us up to addressing some needs that we have, to play better within our division, since a lot of these teams in this division are going to return a large portion of their team.”

White Sox ace Lance Lynn held the Tigers to a run on four hits over five innings, improving to 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in three starts against them this year. Detroit had a chance for another rally off a bullpen, loading the bases with two outs in the seventh against hard-throwing Garrett Crochet. Robbie Grossman stepped to the plate as the potential tying run and connected with a 2-1 fastball, but he flied out to center.