It's hard to sweep a team during a four-game series. Good thing. The Tigers finally scored more than a handful of runs and received a win as a reward for their efforts. Red Sox fans will have to store their brooms for another series.

Quite a few Tigers batters had multi-hit games. What helped push the Tigers over the to was the ability to get a few runs home when there were two outs on the board. Prince Fielder knocked in a pair of runs and Delmon Young one of his own. That's more two-out RBI than Detroit's prior two games combined.

It wasn't only that of course. Detroit had 14 hits, including a home run, a triple and a pair of doubles. The top five in the batting order combined for 10 hits -- Quintin Berry and Delmon Young had three hits apiece, and Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder each had two. (Only Brennan Boesch went hitless among the first five.)

But I've learned my lesson: No predicting the offense might finally be shaking the dust off and waking up.

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The Tigers had scored three runs or fewer in 24 out 49 games heading into Wednesday's game against Boston. They have suffered when that happens. Turns out, the fourth run didn't help.

Detroit battled itself, the Red Sox and -- again -- the umpires on Wednesday night. They lost all three fights -- and the game, 6-4.

The Red Sox scored five runs via the home run. A pair of two-run shots off Drew Smyly in the fourth erased Detroit's early three-run lead. Joaquin Benoit gave up a shot over the Green Monster in the eighth.

Meanwhile there was another fine performance by umpire Bill Welke, who thought he saw Alex Avila tagged at second when the catcher tried to stretch a hit into a double. Once again, replays proved him wrong. You could make an argument that another missed strike three cost the Tigers, too, when Boston went on to score later in the inning. Not going to ride the "Tigers were jobbed!" card too hard. Just as I said last time, when you leave your fate up to umpiring, it's going to happen.

What else can you really say about this team that hasn't been said? This is becoming the most frustrating season yet to write about them -- and this is the seventh season I've been writing about the Tigers.

Lose three, win three, lose three. The Tigers hope to avoid the sweep on Thursday. Rookie Casey Crosby makes his MLB debut on Friday.

Uchhhhh. I'm not sure how to spell that noise that I make when I think about this week of baseball.

Uhm, I suppose I should point out a positive. Detroit had 12 hits. Three of them were doubles by Miguel Cabrera. A fourth was a single by the same Cabrera.

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The Tigers announced this morning they were purchasing the contract of catcher Omir Santos. He will take the place of Ryan Raburn on Detroit's active roster.

Scratching your head?

You're not alone. That seems to be the move many fans are making at this very moment on Twitter (and probably elsewhere.) One might surmise that catcher Alex Avila is sore. Or maybe Gerald Laird, I guess. But more like Avila, who battled knee problems and was reported to be fighting them again already this year.

So the move might be precautionary. Or it might scare the pants off you. Either way, it's not the kind of news we expected to hear this morning, is it?

Santos batted .310 with seven doubles, a triple and nine RBI in 27 games with the Mud Hens.

Last season, Santos made 22 plate appearances for the Tigers. He batted .227, with .227 on-base percentage and .227 slugging average.

He may or may not be able to bunt.

If calculations are correct, this now puts Detroit at a full 40 spots taken on the 40-man roster.

Detroit announced tonight that Ryan Raburn has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo. This is his last option. No corresponding move has been announced. It's hard to picture what exactly would make sense, either. Feel free to speculate.

Manager Jim Leyland told the media, via Fox Sports Detroit's broadcast:

"You have to understand this is not a punishment. We have to try to get him going. He's gone down before, come back and helped us a lot. That's what happens. He has to go down and get that swing going, rejoin us and help us like the last couple of years.

"Right now it's like beating a dead horse. It's not working. I actually think he's relieved a little bit. He knows that he needs to do this. So you look at this as a positive thing."

Raburn has a .146 average, .209 on-base percentage and .211 slugging average for the season. He has not had a lot of baseball luck. After a poor April overall, his line drive rate in May remains pretty steady at 18.2 percent, but it hasn't resulted in any more hits falling in than dropped in first month of the year. More recently Raburn has seen a dramatic upswing in his strikeout rate. He picked up three of them in Monday's game -- though to be fair not all the strike three pitches he watched go by were actually in the strike zone.

But ultimately, second base is a problem for the Tigers and the only second baseman with any potential is Raburn. The Tigers simply must get him started. It wasn't working in the big leagues, so they had no choice but to go a different direction.

On Twitter, MLB.com's Jason Beck notes that the corresponding move will almost certainly not be a second baseman. Leyland said Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth will get most of the time at the position in Raburn's absence.

The problem with relying on Justin Verlander when things go bad for Detroit is that he still is human. It's hard to believe, of course. Even harder when you look at his WHIP and ERA. But no, Verlander is not some sort of cyborg. He's human. He looked the part Tuesday.

Still, it's not like Verlander fell apart or anything. Don't want to give that impression. He had seven strikeouts. He alllowed 10 hits in six innings, but a little more defense behind him and that's probably not the case. And the big inning for Boston, a three-run fourth, came as a result of some balls dropping in rather than being slammed in line drives off the Green Monster or something. But credit Boston, they were hits.

Daniel Nava's double to left was legitimate though. That was the base-clearing hit that got all three runs across the plate in the fourth. Earlier Mike Aviles drove in a run when he grounded into a fielder's choice.

Justin Verlander has picked up losses in back-to-back starts.

The Tigers continue to show signs of the power game gaining ground. Jhonny Peralta hit his fourth home run of the season in the fifth, and Prince Fielder had his eighth homer of the season in the sixth inning. Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila also doubled. Good signs for a Tigers team that was playing like an expensive singles club.

Unfortunately for Detroit, the power showing just didn't come during the key periods of the game. The Tigers had nine hits and took four walks, but scored just three runs off it. Detroit went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring positoin; 11 were stranded. That's pretty inefficient -- as always.

Like I say too much, same plot, different day.

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It's been so long since I was doing a lineups post last that I nearly forgot how.

• I like Big Al's use of dots on these things.
• Ryan Raburn is out of the lineup for Detroit.
• Dustin Pedroia could be out for a long time for Boston after his injury yesterday. In his place: Juicebox.
• Detroit loaded up on left-handers against Boston starter Daniel Bard, who in 2012 has completely reverse splits: .704 OPS for left-handers and .817 for right-handers. His career splits are more traditional -- and he usually does great against both righties and lefties, truth be told.
• Delmon Young had a court appearance in New York but made it back in time to make a Fenway Park appearance as well.

Baseball-Reference Preview

Tigers lineup

Quintin Berry CF (LH)
Andy Dirks LF (LH)
Miguel Cabrera 3B (RH)
Prince Fielder 1B (LH)
Delmon Young DH (RH)
Brennan Boesch RF (LH)
Alex Avila C (LH)
Jhonny Peralta SS (RH
Ramon Santiago 2B (S)

SP: Justin Verlander (RH)

Red Sox lineup

Daniel Nava LF (S)
Ryan Sweeney RF (LH)
Adrian Gonzalez 1B (LH)
David Ortiz DH (LH)
Kevin Youkilis 3B (RH)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C (S)
Mike Aviles SS (RH)
Scott Podsednik CF (LH)
Nick Punto 2B (S)

SP: Daniel Bard (RH)

Magglio Ordonez wrote on Twitter some weeks ago that he planned to retire from the game of baseball. He's making that announcement official Sunday at Comerica Park with a special pregame ceremony.

The Tigers announced that radio play-by-play announcer Dan Dickerson will emcee the ceremony, slated for about 12:40 p.m. Ordonez and his family will participate.

Ordonez played for seven years in Detroit. He had a near-MVP season in 2007 when he batted .363. If Detroit had made the playoffs, he may have garnered more support from voters. His average that year earned him the AL batting title -- and was the first batting title won by a Tiger since Norm Cash in 1961.

However, Ordonez is obviously best known for his walkoff home run in Game 4 of the 2006 ALCS. He's also known for his hair, which inspired fans to wear wigs and set up a wonderful moment during a rain delay when Tigers closer Todd Jones donned a wig and recreated the walkoff home run.

Fans unfortunately did not have a chance to give Ordonez a proper sendoff in 2011 after he re-injured his ankle during the playoffs. Sunday should give them the opportunity to give him the ovation he deserves.

Two weeks ago, I wrote a companion piece for my inaugural column in the Detroit News. I used the space on Bless You Boys to try to explain some of the concepts in more detail. Although Raburn is continuing to hit line drives at approximately the same rate, he's still getting no BABIP love, and he's continuing to find no fortune on the field. Plus he's striking out more. Well, it happens. I stand by the analysis in the long run, but the short term isn't always friendly ground.

Anyway I'm not here today to review Raburn -- Patrick has you covered for that -- I'm here to add a few details to my column in today's Detroit News. (Go read it if you haven't!)

So you want to fire Jim Leyland? Let's think about it a bit more, first.

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Please go check out my column in today's Detroit News. As per the norm, I will avoid the comments section to preserve my sanity.

Detroit had the opportunity to return to .500 with a victory in Boston on Monday. One and a half innings into the game, that chance was all but derailed. You can blame umpire Bill Welke for a blown call -- which he admits -- that cost the Tigers and starter Doug Fister three runs, or you can blame the Tigers for reverting to their struggling ways. It's a mixture of both, really.

Welke's call came with two outs in the inning and no runs yet plated. Had he gotten the call correct, the inning is over and it's a 1-1 tie in the third. But he didn't.

Fister was not as crisp as normal. He left pitches up. Boston hammered them. After the blown call, nothing changed. So Boston scored a few more. The Red Sox added an extra pair later.

SNAP REACTION RECAP: Red Sox 7, Tigers 4

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Snap Reaction: Blame the umpires if you want, they were only part of the story. Truly the Tigers did themselves in.

Doug Fister was not on his "A" game. You could tell that a bit in the first inning when he gave up a run. Then, as we've written about, Fister allowed three runs in the second inning after what should have been the third out. Blame the umpire crew if you want, as missing the third out certainly changes the inning. But Fister was the guy who gave up three consecutive hits after the blown call. Fister also gave up the home run in the fifth and another run in the sixth.

In all, he was tagged for six runs. He allowed 11 hits and struck out just two.

So I have to say, even without the blown call, this game probably wasn't going to go the Tigers' way.

Add to that Detroit's scoring problems came back again. They showed signs of it on Sunday, but it was loud and clear Monday. This time Detroit stranded only three.

The Tigers were outhit 13-7. Two of Detroit's hits came in the ninth inning. Three of seven hits were home runs. Fact is, the offense was pretty flaccid for long periods of time, as it often is. Delmon Young hit a second-inning home run. Gerald Laird a fifth inning home run. And Jhonny Peralta a ninth-inning home run -- driving in Prince Fielder. So at least the long ball returned.

Larid had the game's only multi-hit game with two hits. Quintin Berry extended his hitting streak to six games. Ryan Raburn, Miguel Cabrera and Andy Dirks all went 0-for-4.

Reliever Luis Marte did a nice job with three mostly uneventful innings, though he did give up a run in the eighth inning.

So the winning streak ended at three.

Still photo from MrNegative1 on Twitter, and the below GIF form, via our own Rob. Click the photo if necessary.

It's not good to blame officiating for your team's failures. It seems a bit tacky, like fishing for excuses. I'm generally not in favor.

But you do have to note that sometimes an umpire messes up, and sometimes it really does change the game. That happened when the Tigers met the Red Sox on Monday at Fenway Park.

With a 1-1 tie and two outs in the second inning, Mike Aviles appeared to strike out swinging on a pitch thrown by Doug Fister. First base umpire Bill Welke apparently saw it differently and signaled the ball hit the dirt. Not sure what, exactly, he saw though. A foul-tip that hit the dirt, obviously. Replays showed the ball was cleanly caught by catcher Gerald Laird and the inning should have been over.

Instead, Aviles singled, then Daniel Nava doubled, then Dustin Pedroia singled. The 1-1 tie became a 4-1 lead for Boston.

Detroit's defense struggles enough on its own. The umpires really don't have to assist matters.

Of course, we wouldn't be having this conversation if Fister managed to get the third out, so the blame can't go entirely on the umpire. Still ... third out is properly recorded, no runs that inning and the outcome could be completely different.

Detroit trails 5-2 in the sixth.

Update: Tigers lost 7-4.

Update:

For record, umpires agree they got the call wrong. Bill Welke: "What looks crystal clear [on video] didn't look crystal clear from 1B line."

— DKnobler (@DKnobler) May 28, 2012

Tigers lineup: Berry CF, Raburn RF, Cabrera 3B, Fielder 1B, Young DH, Peralta SS, Dirks LF, Laird C, Worth 2B

Red Sox lineup: Nava LF, Pedroia 2B, Gonzalez RF, Ortiz DH, Youkilis 1B, Salty C, Sweeney CF, Middlebrooks 3B, Aviles SS

The Tigers lost three, then won three, both against AL Central rivals. We saw reasons to cringe then signs that Detroit may be emerging from its funk. One storyline reigned above all ...

Quintin Berry had a week to remember. When the Tigers announced the decision to purchase his contract and give him his first taste of major league action on May 22, fans were split. Some were hopefully for any bit of new blood. Others thought of him as a Don Kelly retread. He started in center field for the ailing Austin Jackson on May 23, and had a double for his first hit. Did I mention it was a bunt double? Berry hit a true double the next day, then had a pair of hits the next. With a hit on Sunday, Berry became the first Tiger since at least 1918 to record hits in each of his first five MLB games. Remarkable. He also recorded a couple of stolen bases and played some slick defense. Fans are unsurprisingly excited.

But it's important to remember he has played just five games. As time evens out trends, he'll get hits fewer times when he puts the ball in play, he'll strike out at inopportune times, he won't hit for power like some other players and he'll get caught stealing at times. This isn't to say Berry can't be a useful player for the Tigers. I certainly thought it was a move worth trying, and I think Berry should continue to get playing time even when Austin Jackson returns. But let's not get crazy and start asking the Tigers to do things they can't later undo, OK? Enjoy the Berry story, just rein yourself in a bit.

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Thursday afternoon, Detroit had its ace on the mound in the afternoon. The ace gave up two runs. The Tigers scored one. The Indians scored 11 runs for the series, yet swept it from the supposed Central Division favorites. Needless to say, things looked dire.

In the past, a trip to Minnesota wouldn't have helped matters. The Metrodome would have teased and tortured, and Detroit would likely have limped out with no more than a win. Fortunately, the Twins play at Target Field now, and they barely resemble the Twins of old. So the Tigers scored 16 runs during the first two games of the series, then rallied in the ninth for the series sweep now that Minnesota's new closer isn't nearly as steadfast as Joe Nathan.

Will this be the weekend that changes everything? You just never know in baseball. But I did think back to May, 2011. The Tigers were swept by the Indians (then lost a game to the Yankees), before running off 10 wins in their next 11 games. During that period, Detroit went from 8 games out of first to 3.5. The Tigers are just 3 games out today.

Nuts and bolts recap:
Tigers 4, Twins 3: Detroit sweeps Minnesota

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Snap Reaction: So Miguel Cabrera DOES remember how to hit home runs. I was starting to wonder.

With Detroit trailing by a run in the ninth inning, appearing to be in yet another no-luck funk, the Tigers' star flexed his muscle. After recent sparkplug Quintin Berry started the rally with a single and stolen base, Cabrera picked a good time to hit his first home run since May 15, and just his second of the entire month.

The center field shot lifted Detroit to a 4-3 lead.

The Tigers swept the Twins and closed to within three games of the Indians just days after being swept by the Tribe. What a week. Maybe the disaster in Cleveland will be a rallying point again, as it was in May of 2011. You never know.

The Tigers started the game with gusto, as Berry walked and Andy Dirks singled. Cabrera followed suit with a single of his own, driving in a run, though he got tagged while lolly-gagging back to first base after taking the turn. Prince Fielder walked, and later avoided the double play off Brennan Boesch's bat just long enough for the second run to score. (Fielder was tagged for the third out, rather than forced out.)

With that, the first inning ended. So did the Tigers' scoring for nearly the rest of the game -- not that they didn't get chances. In fact, Detroit had plenty of chances but reverted to their runner-stranding ways, leaving 10 on base.

On the other side of things, Rick Porcello, battling his own defense, allowed three runs. The second and third Twins' scores were more the fault of Porcello giving up hits to right-center than his defense, though.

And that was basically it. Same story written many times before, this time with a ninth-inning reprieve.

Berry had three hits -- he became the first Tigers batter since at least 1918 to record hits in each of his first five games in the big leagues -- two stolen bases and a diving catch in the ninth inning. He's been a nice addition so far.

Andy Dirks had another multi-hit game, with two. (I need a macro for that sentence.) Fielder had a double and single, and Cabrera had a home run and single.

Duane Below and Brayan Villarreal had nice efforts in relief of Porcello. Villarreal earned the win, and Jose Valverde his second save in as many days.

Don Kelly earned scowls by going 0-for-3 and popping out on a bunt. He stranded five. Brennan Boesch went 0-for-3 and stranded seven.

EARLIER RECAP

Groundhog Day. The Tigers continue to bewilder. Things change, nothing changes. Different lineup, same results. Some want to change the coaches, the manager. How will that help the Tigers get a run in when the bases are loaded with no outs in the eighth inning? I do not know.

Really, what would you have me do in this space? Rant and rave about how much the team is failing? I find that a bit obvious. You don't need me to say it. I've seen your comments. You're doing a great job on your own. Tell you how the BABIP indicates this or that? Or how the players have track records and at any moment they'll bust out of it? I've written of those topics, but each day feels like another stone added to your chest. Eventually the Tigers are just going to suffocate your hopes. Nothing I write is going to change that at this point.

So let's concentrate on something original anyway. Quintin Berry. Not only did the 27-year-old center fielder make his major-league debut, he had his first hit. Not only did he have his first hit, he had his first extra-base hit. ...

on a bunt.

Well, OK. Haven't seen that before. Maybe the scorekeeper changes it later or something. Who knows. But tonight, it is a double, and it is glorious. Enjoy.

(credit for the GIF goes to Rob. If it doesn't auto play just click it)

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Welp ...

Your humble correspondent -- seriously, someone has actually called humble once. I have proof. I am as shocked as you are, but the humble thing to do is to agree with their assessment, right? -- tweeted after the Tigers failed to score with bases loaded and no outs in the eighth inning:

Tigers trying to rip defeat from the jaws of victory, or something like that

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) May 24, 2012

Plenty of blame to go around. Some want to put it on the home-plate ump. I'm not one. There were maybe some questionable calls at times -- though not as many as people on Twitter complained about. ("Ball 4" to Miguel Cabrera in the seventh inning comes to mind where for an example of when I agreed with the masses.) But bigger picture here: Detroit's batters just didn't execute. Cabrera grounded out later in the at bat. In the eighth, Ramon Santiago nearly grounded into a double play, and there were two strikeouts, including one by Jhonny Peralta.

Meanwhile the defense didn't perform again either. Doug Fister allowed two runs -- on a blast by Pronk in the sixth to tie the game just a few minutes after Detroit took the lead, of course. But the bottom of the eighth sunk the Tigers, including a poor throw to home by Prince Fielder than Alex Avila could not corral. Another run came home and it was 4-2 for the final.

In all, I think it's safe to say we're seeing among the worst play of the year.

Groundhog Day.

I start with a question you probably already have an answer cued up for. How patient are the Tigers batters? Not patient at all, you say. It's the quick and easy response when you consider at bats by Delmon Young or Brennan Boesch -- both of whom swing first and ask questions later.

Whenever "everybody knows" something I decide to inspect it closer. Sometimes that confirms suspicions. Sometimes it goes in the face of popular thought. Talking about the Tigers' patience at the plate is one of those interesting instances that goes both ways.

The Tigers didn't suddenly forget to take a pitch. They're basically the same club as in prior years. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Contrary to the belief in some quarters, players do not suddenly make big changes. Many Tigers have found success by swinging earlier in the count -- and this year's results confirm that it's OK to swing some times. Or, as manager Jim Leyland recently said, he doesn't care if they swing at the first pitch as long as it's a strike.

However, on the whole Tigers batters are swinging at too many pitches out of the zone -- even compared to last season -- and they're suffering from swinging strikes more often, too. Those sound like bad things, but they're not necessarily predictors of success or failure. They're just numbers.

Keep reading if you like numbers and charts and things.

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The Tigers did their Groundhog Day impersonation.

OF Quintin Berry will be joining the team on Wednesday. Austin Jackson appears bound for the DL.

What more is there for you to know, really? So here's the postgame voting and whatnot.

And if it feels like I've done this kind of post before, I have. But I figured this was better than pulling up a recap from last week and inserting "Indians"where it said "Twins" before.

3 ROARS

Alex Avila - Provided some runs. Like all 3 of them with one swing.

Andy Dirks - Another day, another multi-hit game

Duane Below - Some nice innings of relief

SORTA ROAR

Miguel Cabrera - Walked 3 times because the Indians didn't give him much.

3 HISSES

Brennan Boesch - Ugly non-catch

Prince Fielder - Did not make Indians pay for walking Cabrera, 0-5 with 6 LOB

Rick Porcello - Defense may not have helped, but the starter gets credit often so the starter gets blame, too.

Game 41 POG:

Max Scherzer struck out like 1000 in the game. You do the math.

With outfielder Austin Jackson apparently still having lingering problems and the Tigers having no real threats on the basepaths, Detroit's front office made the decision to purchase the contract of Mud Hens outfielder Quintin Berry. The corresponding move was designating for assignment the contract of right-handed reliever Collin Balester.

Berry (stats) is a player who has very little power. He also has a career OPS of .697 in the minor leagues across seven seasons. However, two things that could help Detroit this year are his ability to get on base and what he can do when he gets there. Berry has a .365 on-base percentage with Triple-A Toledo. His career number is .358.

Berry will be making his major league debut on Wednesday, manager Jim Leyland confirmed during his interview.

As for why Berry had to happen: Jackson's injury is concerning. He may yet end up on the DL. With Ryan Raburn also away on the bereavement list, the Tigers lacked for depth.

#Tigers Jackson sounding down - will shut down activity on Wed - how abdominal strain feels Thurs could determine DL or no DL

— Tom Gage (@Tom_Gage) May 23, 2012

While Berry obviously brings to mind any number of past Tigers -- Josh Anderson, Nook Logan and Alex Sanchez were names that appeared pretty quick on a Twitter feed.

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Snap Reaction: That three-run home run hit by Alex Avila in the second inning was exciting. The rest of the game stunk.

Enjoy self torture? Read this: Detroit had a single in the first inning, then a double and home run in the second. It may even have whetted your appetite for an exciting, possibly even relaxing game. Meanwhile Ubaldo Jimenez did his best to gift Detroit more chances to score. He actually walked six. The Indians walked seven.

But Detroit did not score again after the second inning. It had just six hits for the game. Cleveland scored four unanswered runs for the 5-3 victory.

Seriously, you can point to the pitching if you want, but when the lineup fails for six or seven inning stretches at a time, what, exactly, do you expect is going to happen? Surely not good things.

Rick Porcello had little help from his defense. (He hurt his own cause with an error of his own.) He had little help from luck, either.

The Tigers still haven't won two in a row since mid-April. All these stories are the same, aren't they? Offense fails. Defense fails. Pitching can't overcome it. Groundhog Day. Maybe Bill Murray can speak to the club before Wednesday's game.

First, Tigers news: Austin Jackson is back in the lineup. He'd been out several days after scaring the crap out of Tigers fans abdominal pain forced him from the game. Austin Jackson was set to start today, but has been scratched. Good news: Don Kelly will not be leading off in his place. Bad news: Ramon Santiago will. Current Tigers have an .852 OPS against Indians starter Ubaldo Jimenez, who hasn't been particularly great this year overall though is decent at home. However, Santiago does not share in that fun. His OPS of .558 is among the worst on the club.

Now the Indians: Man, what a bunch of left-handed hitters they have. Seriously, look at their 25-man roster. It seems like everyone is either a lefty or a switch hitter. This is bad news because lefties have a .882 OPS against Porcello this year. This is actually an improvement over 2011. So uhm, yeah. Current Indians have an .832 OPS against him, too. Carlos Santana has three home runs.

By the way, out of market fans, this game is the free one on MLB.tv.

Baseball-Reference preview

Detroit Tigers

Ramon Santiago 2B (S)
Andy Dirks LF (LH)
Miguel Cabrera 3B (RH)
Prince Fielder 1B (LH)
Delmon Young DH (RH)
Brennan Boesch RF (LH)
Jhonny Peralta SS (RH)
Alex Avila C (LH)
Don Kelly CF (S)

SP: Rick Porcello (RH)

Cleveland Indians

Shin-Soo Choo RF (LH)
Jason Kipnis 2B (LH)
Wrong Asdrubal Cabrera SS (S)
Travis Hafner DH (LH)
Carlos Santana C (S)
Michael Brantley CF (LH)
Johnny Damon LF (LH)
Casey Kotchman 1B (LH)
Jose Lopez 3B (RH)

SP: Ubaldo Jimenez (RH)

The Tigers announced on Twitter today that Ryan Raburn was placed on the bereavement list. While he is away from the team, infielder Danny Worth was recalled.

There appears to be no word on the reason for the move. There may or may not be some by the end of the day. The bereavement list is used when a player has a serious illness or death in the family. The player is allowed to miss from three to seven games.

Worth was batting .176 with OPS of .476 when he was last with the Tigers. With the Mud Hens this season, Worth is batting .306 with .941 OPS in 83 plate appearances.

I said before the Tigers return home we could learn a lot about them by the way they finish the month. Dropping two to the Twins and taking two of three from the Pirates was probably not how people saw the first five games of that. But it's a start. Now if the team can only get a winning streak going ...

Is it that hard to win two games in a row? This stat probably isn't new to you. The Tigers haven't won two games in a row since April 17-18. That was more than a month ago. How is it possible for a team that is supposedly as good as Detroit to go so long without two wins in a row? Maybe that the Tigers should be good is the only thing keeping them from falling into a lengthy losing streak instead. Who's to say? In any case, it's hard to call a stat like that a fluke. A fluke lasts a week or maybe two or three. More than a month becomes disconcerting. Detroit will have a chance to finally break out of the funk when the team travels to Cleveland for the start of an 10(!)-game road trip that also stops in Minnesota and Boston.

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Can we dispense with this "Trade Jacob Turner for ______" stuff? With the Tigers failing to run away with the division like some predicted and the emergence of Drew Smyly, it seems more and more popular to call for the trade of Detroit's top prospect.

Stop it.

As much as anyone, I have a track record of saying it's fine to trade prospects for established major league players. Several years ago I agitated for moving Rick Porcello and I do not regret it in the least. I'm sympathetic to what you've got going on.

But you're going about it all wrong.

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You know what? I don't want to write about the team. There's not much new to say.

You probably don't want to read it, based on the recent numbers I've seen on our stats pages.

And I bet you're all commented out, judging by the steep drop on the snap reaction.

So forget it. There's the line score. You'll find the Roars and Hisses below.

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Snap Reaction: Still out of sync. The Tigers' limit the Twins to four runs, but can only score three. Go figure.

A lot of pregame celebration occurred with Tigers starter Doug Fister taking the mound. He's one of the reliable ones. Yet ... not so much against the Twins. He got into trouble several times, but was finally burned when he gave up a pair of home runs in the third inning. Morneau added a third RBI on the day in the fifth inning, when he grounded out to score a run. Just for fun, Detroit's corner infielders, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, each contributed an error. His fifth-inning error made one run unearned.

Fister allowed nine hits and two walks in six innings. The Tigers' bullpen of Phil Coke and Brayan Villarreal combined for three innings of scoreless relief.

So the starting pitching gave up a few too many runs, but was serviceable. The bullpen did its job well.

The Tigers lost, anyway. They were no hit until Brennan Boesch homered in the fifth inning. Andy Dirks homered in the sixth, and Prince Fielder followed two batters later.

But that was it for Detroit. Four hits, three left the park.

They threatened in the eighth. Glen Perkins couldn't find the strike zone. The first two batters walked. Then Fielder struck out and Delmon Young hit into a double play.

So the Tigers were swept at home in a two-game series by the Twins. Oh, Tigers. Not what the home fans wanted to see. Detroit is now two games under .500 at 18-20.

The Pirates come to town Friday for an interleague series.

What an ugly loss. You can be forgiven for reaching for your panic button. If you're still grabbing it in the morning, well, time to relax, OK? But certainly you may press it or throw it at your television screen (note: do not actually throw anything at your television screen) for all I care.

The Tigers stunk. It was a team effort. I don't get what makes fans tick sometimes, to be honest. They want to blame someone. Well, there are generally about 10-12 position players who make it into a game on any day. You've got the starting pitcher, of course. Most days about three relievers pitch.

If a team loses by a bunch of runs, it's probably the fault of a lot of people, for not getting hits, not getting in runs, not recording outs, etc. If a team loses by a run or two, there were probably multiple moments throughout the game where one hit or one pitch make a difference.

In the case of Wednesday's game, the team gave up 11 runs. That's because Rick Porcello's defense committed four errors. Every single infielder had one. That's just ... bad. That's like those unrealistic nightmare scenarios dreamed up during the offseason come to life. Of course, Porcello couldn't keep the ball in the park all that well, didn't miss bats, and generally wasn't that good. So he definitely contributed to his six runs, even if only two were earned.

And the batters did score seven runs. Unfortunately, after the second inning they scored just one. The fault for that has to be placed on many, just as credit has to be given to the Twins. Meanwhile the Tigers' bullpen sputtered. Duane Below gave up runs. Luke Putkonen gave up a run. Collin Balester gave up runs. Unfortunately, the Tigers can't run out Joaquin Benoit and Phil Coke every game -- especially when Jose Valverde is day-to-day with back pain. So it's not as if there were other options hanging around being wasted.

It's not a one man game. You want to credit or blame one person? Watch golf. Watch singles tennis. Watch the UFC. Watch boxing. Watch track-and-field. Watch swimming. But not the relays.

It's a team game. Detroit's loss was most definitely a team loss Wednesday.

Earlier links:

Austin Jackson is day-to-day
Brayan Villarreal recalled, Danny Worth optioned
Twins 11, Tigers 7: Detroit's bullpen can't keep up with Minnesota's

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