Detroit Tigers suffer series sweep against their AL Central rivals – MLB Update
Detroit Tigers suffered yet another series sweep as they lost to Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday, May 24 in the finale of a three match series between the two teams.
Considering the depth and quality of Tigers’ pitching rotation and offensive lineup, Jim Leyland and his men were expected to outclass their opponents in the American League Central Division. However, that has not turned out to be the case so far. It seems the Tigers have lost their way after making a decent start to their 2012 season campaign.
They were placed at the top of the table with a 9-3 record at one stage but their series’ loss to the Indians sent them to third place with a 20-24 record. The Tigers will have to work out a method to win games on regular basis.
After signing on Prince Fielder for $214 million nine year deal, they were expected to run away with the AL Central title but the offence has not been producing enough runs for the pitchers to win games. It will be interesting to see if the Tigers can up their game play a bit in their next games to top the AL Central standing tables once again.
"We're not scoring," Leyland said in an interview. "We're not swinging. That pretty much sums it up. I don't know what else to tell you. I'd love to have something juicy for you, but I don't."
Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera, Delmon Young and Brennan Boesch have been struggling to deliver the goods since the start of the season. Fielder, in particular, will have to train extremely hard to find his lost form to put things back on the right track for the Tigers. Justin Verlander also took his second loss of the season against the Indians and if the offence continues to fail, it will be tough for him to match his stats from the last season.
Fans had great expectations from this team after the Tigers bought some of the most dynamic and expensive players in Major League Baseball but the Tigers have not been able to execute their game plan successfully.
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