Detroit — There were a couple of miserable losses over the weekend, a 9-2 loss Saturday to Houston Astros, and the Astros stomping Sunday to a 17-4 victory.
Two painful losses after the Detroit Tigers’ dramatic and exciting win Friday night on Parker Meadows’ ninth-inning home run.
But that’ll happen during a long baseball season. There will be quite a few streaks, in opposite directions, and the good thing for the Tigers is, they’ve been able to nip the losing streaks and forget the particularly bad losses quickly.
“It’s a new series, so we better be good at just turning the page and go into the new series,” manager AJ Hinch said. “Our team is very good at going day and day and today should be no different.”
When you look over the long Tigers’ schedule, a few examples of quickly forgetting the game before stand out.
The Tigers lost 12-6 in St. Louis on May 7, and rebounded the next day in Cleveland with a 6-2 victory. There was a ugly 10-2 loss in Texas on June 28, followed with an 8-5 victory. A 12-3 loss against Oakland July 5, followed by a 9-0 victory, and rebounding from a 14-3 loss against San Diego July 22, with a 3-1 victory.
Baseball, with its nearly every-day schedule, makes it almost mandatory to forget about the game 24 hours earlier. The Tigers have been able to do that.
“Our schedule begs us to handle the ups and downs, and good days and bad days and you show up ready to play,” Hinch said. “We’ve had some sporadic days that are easy to forget, and for us, we don’t focus a ton on yesterday. I wasn’t going to talk about it (Sunday’s loss) until you talked about it. It’s part of our mentality, get out and get ready to play and face the challenge every single day.
“We meet with our hitters (every day) and we have a completely different game plan that day depending on the strength of the pitcher and that’s part of it. Our starting pitcher today (Reese Olson) wasn’t focused on Houston. He was focused on New York and he’s ready to go.”
Iconic franchises
Monday was the first time the Tigers and Yankees have met this season, as they embarked on a four-game series at Comerica Park. They’ll play a three-game set Sept. 5-7 at Yankee Stadium.
For baseball purists, fans who appreciate the history of the game, seeing these two teams face each other is a thrill similar to seeing the Lions against the Green Bay Packers or Chicago Bears, or the Red Wings against any of the Original Six rivals.
It’s just a little different feeling in the ballpark.
“They’re obviously original teams,” Hinch said. “These are fun matchups. I don’t prepare for it that way, but I can respect the fact each organization has a long history. The Yankees, their brand, the teams they’ve put together, their winning seasons they’ve put together, speak for themselves during my time in the game.
“We’ll go there next week and see all the famous names and numbers and things like that, but those that have followed baseball for a long time recognize not only recent (success) but the long history these two teams have and what the English D means and what the Yankees’ logo means throughout the game.”
Going into Monday, the Yankees led the all-time record against the Tigers, 1,063-935, although the Tigers had the advantage in Detroit, with a 517-484 record.
Around the horn
Hinch no update on pitcher Matt Manning, who tweaked his lower back Friday against Houston.
“I need to talk to him after he throws his bullpen (session),” Hinch said. “Save that one for (Tuesday).”
… Hinch is pleased with progress this season of pitcher Tarik Skubal, who’ll start Tuesday.
“Health was the only thing he needed to worry about at the beginning of the season,” Hinch said. “Now it’s being able to complement his high-end velocity with secondary pitches and throw altering based on the opponents.
“He has four pitches and sometimes he’s almost too famous for his velocity and size and he doesn’t get enough credit for being the pitcher he is.”
… With a single Sunday, Riley Greene recorded his 200th career hit and became just the 16th Tiger in franchise history to reach 200 hits before his 23rd birthday.
“Riley is a nice hitter, he’s covering more and more pitches and he’s young and learning,” Hinch said. “His preparation has gotten better in his time here. He’s learning his process and routines. It’s nice to see him mature.”
Yankees at Tigers
▶ First pitch: 6:40 p.m. Tuesday, Comerica Park, Detroit
▶ TV/radio: BSD/97.1
Scouting report
▶ RHP Michael King (3-5, 3.13), Yankees: Looks like a bullpen day for the Yankees, as King is mainly a relief pitcher only making his third start in what’ll be his 43rd appearance. King started Thursday in Washington and threw 2⅔ innings. King has lost his last four decisions.
▶ LHP Tark Skubal (3-2 4.06), Tigers: Skubal is coming off a 6-4 loss to the Cubs, allowing six hits and four earned runs over six innings. Skubal has a 1.48 ERA at Comerica Park, allowing four earned runs over 24⅓ innings.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
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