Bats show life: 'Continue to stay positive'

Tuesday night's series opener at Fenway Park began much the way many Tigers games have gone of late, with Detroit weathering an early offensive surge from its opponent. Unlike during their recent slump, however, the Tigers showed a competitive fire during an 11-7 loss against the Red Sox that brought them tantalizingly close to a much-needed victory.

"There's something to build from every day," left fielder Robbie Grossman said. "Continue to stay positive, show up every day and get better, and put your best foot forward. That's all we can do at this point."

Detroit has lost six in a row and 16 of its past 18.

Had a few situations played out differently, Tuesday's story might have had a different ending. Let's take a look at three storylines that contributed to Detroit's productive night in defeat.

The pitching was hurt early
Before the game's first pitch, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Michael Fulmer's start "won't be very long," but Hinch surely wasn't banking on his right-hander lasting just two outs and 33 pitches.

The trouble started with a leadoff walk. Fulmer rebounded by coaxing a weak dribbler out of Alex Verdugo that Fulmer scooped up easily. His ensuing throw to second base, however, sailed high and into center field to put runners on the corners.

Kiké Hernández scored on the next play. Three consecutive singles, a pop fly and another single followed, giving Boston a 4-0 lead and ending Fulmer's night. His relief, Alex Lange, was tagged for three runs in two-thirds of an inning thanks to a pair of home runs. Just like that, the Red Sox were up, 8-2, after three innings.

Except ...

The offense came alive
Victor Reyes entered the night in an 0-for-14 slump and Grossman was 3-for-18 on the current road trip, but both turned a corner. Reyes put Detroit on the board with an RBI single and added another single and a double to mark his 10th career three-hit game.

Grossman plated Reyes in the second, fifth and sixth innings. A pair of walks meant Grossman reached base five times in a game for the first time in his career.

"I've been fighting with my swing," Grossman said. "Just trying to get to a point where I feel balanced in my legs, and today was a building block and I look forward to come back tomorrow and continue to work and continue to hone my craft."

JaCoby Jones had just one hit Tuesday, but it was big. Just prior to Grossman's third knock, Jones' three-run homer in the sixth left his bat at 104 mph, cleared the Green Monster, got the dugout buzzing and, most importantly, gave new life to what was unfolding as a blowout.

"They were some big at-bats that got us back into the game," Hinch said. "[The Red Sox] are a momentum team, and then when they got the big lead, I was proud of some [of our] at-bats.

"We just couldn't keep up with them once we gave them a couple of free baserunners in the first inning. We didn't make the PFP play and it kind of spiraled out of control. I think the game changes a little bit, but our at-bats were much better from those three, for sure."

Tuesday marked the first time Detroit had scored more than five runs since April 14, a 6-4 win over Astros. It was a welcome positive for a Tigers team that had scored just 14 runs in its past 11 games.

Miggy battled, but came up empty
Miguel Cabrera's quest to tie Babe Ruth on MLB's all-time hits list will have to wait another day, as the Tigers slugger finished 0-for-5. Cabrera -- whose next hit will mark No. 2,873 and tie Ruth -- is 0-for-23 with 13 strikeouts since his last hit, a home run against the White Sox on April 27.

"It's tough, because he's swinging the bat well in BP, he's putting his work in, he's in the at-bats, but they're not in his favor," Hinch said. "We're all pulling for him. We're obviously a better team when he comes out of it, but it's been a struggle."

Though he didn't have anything to show for it Tuesday, Cabrera worked the Red Sox for 24 pitches during his middle three at-bats. Grossman, for one, is confident his teammate's next streak is just around the corner.

"He's still Miguel Cabrera in my eyes," Grossman said. "Look at his numbers; he's one of the greatest right-handed hitters of all time. I watch him every day just to see if I can get something from him, because he is a future Hall of Famer."