DETROIT -- The story of the Tigers' 2-1 loss to the Mariners on Thursday shouldn't be the bullpen, manager Brad Ausmus argued.
"People want to focus on the bullpen. We scored one run," Ausmus said. "You're not going to win many games when you score one run."
And yet, considering the season-long saga, Ausmus knew it was going to be.
Francisco Rodriguez, who took the loss after Ben Gamel's go-ahead single in the ninth, knew it would be.
"I think the results speak for themselves," Rodriguez said.
The results Rodriguez referred to were the back-to-back hits after he retired Nelson Cruz to begin the inning. Kyle Seager hit a 2-1 pitch to left-center for a one-out double. Gamel got a changeup at the knees and over the plate and golfed it into right-center for the go-ahead RBI.
"Doesn't look like it was a bad pitch to Gamel," Rodriguez said, "but ... it was a base hit at the end of the day."
But Rodriguez also knew the bigger-picture question. With six earned runs and 14 hits over 8 2/3 innings, he has taken his damage, despite nine strikeouts and two walks on his way to six saves in eight chances. He has given up a run in six of nine appearances, including five of his last six. And few closers are tougher on themselves than Rodriguez.
His fastball velocity is up from the stretch run last year, but his efficiency isn't.
"I'm just missing my spots," Rodriguez said. "I just have to pitch better, locate better, and start getting people out quick."
Rodriguez has had particular struggles, albeit in a small sample size, against left-handed hitters. They're now 10-for-25 with three doubles and three home runs off Rodriguez this season, compared with a .204 average he allowed to lefties last year.
"He's struggled. We need him to pitch better," Ausmus said of Rodriguez. "There's no question about that. You feel pretty good about it when he is pitching well and you've got [Alex] Wilson, [Justin] Wilson and K-Rod."

No manager with set bullpen roles is going to go on lefty-righty splits with their closer. The person they trust in the ninth is going to have to get hitters out from either side. If anything, the Mariners' lineup unfolded in a way that benefited the Tigers, with setup man Justin Wilson striking out the top third of the order in the eighth and fanning lefty slugger Robinson Cano to end it. Wilson used 21 pitches in the process, but now has 9 2/3 hitless innings on the season.
The bigger challenge for the Tigers is mixing middle relievers to get leads to Alex Wilson in the seventh inning. The fact that rookie Joe Jimenez remains after the Tigers returned to a seven-man bullpen suggests Jimenez could be part of that middle-inning mix.
As for Rodriguez, Ausmus said, "I think people have very short memories. This guy did a pretty good job for us last year. Early on, people were worried because the velocity's down. Well, the velocity's back. But at some point he does have to pitch the way he pitched last year, because he did an outstanding job for us last year. In a city that has been looking for a closer that was consistent for a long time, he was that. And that's the truth."