The Detroit Tigers have used the 2024 season as a launching pad and have emerged as one of the top teams in Major League Baseball. Heading into Tuesday night’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates, they boasted a 60-41 record — the best in the league at the time. However, their performance since the All-Star break has been underwhelming, managing just one win in their last five games, including an 8-5 loss to the Pirates.
Tuesday’s defeat was largely self-inflicted. Casey Mize struggled on the mound, surrendering five runs (four earned) on 10 hits over just four innings. Meanwhile, Detroit’s defense faltered, with third baseman Zach McKinstry committing two throwing errors and catcher Jake Rogers adding another.
Despite the sloppy performance, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch promised that his team would learn from the loss and clean up the mental mistakes that plagued them in their stumble against a Pirates squad that sits 20 games under .500.
“We had a really bad mental game today. That’s rare for this group. We paid for it,” Hinch said, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. “It’s frustrating — some guys might be pressing, others too passive. But these are fixable mistakes, and we will fix them. We’ll be better.”
Fortunately, Detroit still has a sizeable cushion atop the AL Central. With a nine-game lead over the second-place Cleveland Guardians, there’s no immediate cause for alarm.
The Tigers are enjoying a breakthrough year, with their young core finally clicking after last season’s postseason appearance. However, their only win since the All-Star break came in a game started by Tarik Skubal — a troubling trend if the team becomes overly dependent on their ace.
To right the ship, Detroit’s offense needs to snap out of its post-break slump. The team holds a paltry .561 OPS since returning from the All-Star break and must get its bats going again to sustain their winning pace.