Sloppy defense sinks Tigers on wet night

DETROIT -- Seven weeks after Tigers prospect Parker Meadows hit an inside-the-park home run for Class A West Michigan, his older brother Austin did a similar lap around the bases at Comerica Park. His trek home was easier, after second baseman Harold Castro’s throw to third bounced past Dawel Lugo and to Detroit's dugout for a triple and an error.

It was that kind of Wednesday night for the Tigers, whose 4-0 loss to the Rays likely would’ve unfolded with or without self-inflicted mistakes the way Charlie Morton shut down Detroit’s offense. Still, with three errors and another wayward throw on a pickoff rundown, the Tigers continued the haphazard infield defense that has plagued them for much of the last couple weeks since losing their veteran double-play duo of Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison to injury.

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Harrison is expected to miss six to eight weeks once he undergoes surgery later this week to repair a severely strained left hamstring. Mercer, on the injured list for the second time with a right quad strain, is sidelined again after aggravating the injury on a rehab assignment last week. Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire was counting on them to stabilize a young infield going into the season. The difference without them is noticeable.

Add in more changes at first, where Miguel Cabrera is no longer an option thanks to right knee issues, and most of the infield is in flux.

“We made three errors, should've been four,” Gardenhire said. “That’s never going to help your cause when you’re trying to beat a very good team.”

The Tigers do not have an everyday replacement at second base for Harrison, who registered a solid 2.8 Ultimate Zone Rating. Castro, called up from Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, is the fifth second baseman Detroit has used since Harrison strained his hamstring on Memorial Day in Baltimore. In addition to Meadows’ Little League home run, Castro’s wayward throw to first base on a double-play attempt led to an unearned insurance run in the eighth. However, Castro did make a couple of nice plays on Wednesday, including a running grab and throw in the sixth and a sliding stop in the hole and throw from his backside to end the top of the ninth.

The Tigers have an everyday replacement for Mercer at short only because they’ve installed super-utility player Niko Goodrum there; he came through the Twins' farm system as a shortstop. Ronny Rodriguez had been playing there, but his defensive struggles led to a switch last week. Gordon Beckham had a spell there earlier this season.

The Tigers have top shortstop prospect Willi Castro -- Detroit’s No. 7 prospect according to MLB Pipeline -- on a tear at Triple-A Toledo, but they want to give him more time to develop before bringing him up. Thus, shortstop likely belongs to Goodrum until Mercer returns. At this point, continuity is the best chance for the Tigers to get some stability at second base, though Detroit is playing the position by matchups to try to help an inconsistent offense.

By this point next year, the Tigers should have Castro at short. Their future at second base is murkier. Kody Clemens, ranked 13th on MLB Pipeline’s list of Detroit's Top 30 Prospects, has a path to the job long-term but is currently at Class A Advanced Lakeland, where he’s quickly digging out of an early-season slump. Lugo was the Tigers' second baseman of the future at one point, but he moved to third base early this season in Toledo for defensive reasons. Isaac Paredes ranks as Detroit’s top position prospect by MLB Pipeline, but has been playing third base and shortstop at Double-A Erie; his big frame likely rules him out at second.

That decision can wait. For now, the Tigers have to calm down their middle infield with who they have. Thus, before Tuesday’s series opener, Gardenhire and his coaching staff had their infielders on the field for early work, re-emphasizing points from Spring Training, such as telling young players to take the sure out rather than try to make a superhero play and get two. Many of these players heard those points in Lakeland in February, but they weren’t being counted on as regular players then; Rodriguez, Castro, Lugo and first baseman Brandon Dixon weren’t on the roster when the season began.

“It’s all about communication, and we’ve got moving parts all over the place in the infield,” Gardenhire said of that session. “It all started with communication, especially in shifts. We hit a lot of balls, and all we wanted to do was hear them say, ‘I’ve got it, I’ve got it.’ Let’s get one out. It’s so important, rather than trying to get two.

“Those are the little things. When you have to deal with injuries, you deal with them. And we’re attacking it head-on. We need production out of some of these guys, but we need to catch the ball.”

The slow pace of Wednesday’s game did not help. The Rays made Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull labor through five innings, walking three batters and enduring several long at-bats as Turnbull tried to command an arsenal that included a 97 mph fastball and several upper-80s sliders.

Detroit’s bullpen suffered the same; Blaine Hardy threw 21 pitches in a two-batter stretch of the seventh inning, including a 13-pitch strikeout of Kevin Kiermaier. Some of those pitches were extra after Dixon’s throw from first to second sailed into left field, allowing Willy Adames to escape a rundown.

“The pace of the game was definitely slow,” Gardenhire said. “We talked to a couple different guys. We’re standing out there a lot playing defense, walked too many people, made errors. That’s what happens when you’re out there playing long innings on defense, you get a little complacent, you get a little tired on your legs. And then you end up making mental mistakes, which lead to physical mistakes. That’s kind of what happened tonight.”