PITTSBURGH — If there was ever a play to capture the current state of the Detroit Tigers, it was the final play in the top of the fourth inning: Wenceel Pérez should have scored their first run, but he missed home plate.
It was frustrating to watch.
The three-error Tigers lost, 8-5, to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, July 22, at PNC Park, dropping eight of their past nine games — and posting a 14-17 record since June 14.
In the American League Central, the first-place Tigers (60-42) controlled a 14-game lead on July 8, but exactly two weeks later, spanning just 10 games, the Cleveland Guardians trail the Tigers by nine games.
The offense has been the reason for the struggles.
The Tigers had scored just three runs in 40 innings — a stretch that covered four full games — coming out of the All-Star break before Jake Rogers launched a three-run home run off right-hander Mitch Keller in the fifth inning.
In the fourth, Pérez worked a leadoff walk, and although Riley Greene struck out swinging, Spencer Torkelson ripped a single to advance Pérez to third base.
Pérez appeared to score easily on Zach McKinstry’s flyout.
But Pérez missed the base on a head-first slide into home — and replay review overturned the safe call, taking away McKinstry’s sacrifice fly and ending the top of the fourth inning.
The Tigers finished 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, including 0-for-2 in the first inning with Pérez (line out) and Greene (groundout) and 0-for-3 in the second inning with McKinstry (line out), Parker Meadows (groundout) and Javier Báez (strikeout).
Three runs scored on Rogers’ home run in the fifth inning, set up by a walk from Meadows and a single from Báez. Rogers then hit a first-pitch slider for a three-run homer — his second in 27 games this season.
It cut the Tigers’ deficit to 5-3.
For the Pirates, Keller allowed three runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts across six games, throwing 89 pitches. He has a 3.53 ERA in 21 starts.
It was too little, too late, but Jahmai Jones — pinch-hitting for Meadows — launched a two-run home run off left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson with two outs in the eighth inning, but the Tigers still trailed, 8-5.
It was Jones’ first hit since July 2.
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Casey Mize struggles again
Right-hander Casey Mize allowed five runs (four earned runs) on 10 hits and one walk with five strikeouts across four innings, throwing 72.1% of his 86 pitches for strikes.
One of the Tigers’ three errors occurred in the third inning, as McKinstry’s throwing error allowed a run to score.
The other four runs were charged to Mize’s tab.
The 28-year-old — a first-time All-Star this season — owns a 3.40 ERA in 17 starts, but his ERA has climbed from 2.63 to 3.40 after giving up 10 earned runs in his last two starts against the Seattle Mariners (six runs) and Pirates (four runs).
The Pirates grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning on production from Ke’Bryan Hayes (double), Henry Davis (walk), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (infield single) and Spencer Horwitz (double).
Back-to-back singles from Bryan Reynolds and Tommy Pham in the fourth inning made it 5-0.
The Pirates averaged a 96.4 mph exit velocity on 17 balls in play against Mize, whose fastball, sinker and splitter were punished for hard contact.
Right-handed reliever Carlos Hernández allowed the other three runs in the sixth inning. He has a 6.88 ERA in 35 games this season, with an 11.17 ERA in 10 games for the Tigers.
Javier Báez throws out runners
For all the bad plays, the Tigers threw out three runners trying to score with Mize on the mound.
From shortstop, Báez threw out Horwitz for the second out in the first inning and Kiner-Falefa for the second out in the second inning. From right field, Pérez and Báez teamed up to throw out Pham for the third out in the fourth inning.
In the third, Oneil Cruz crushed Mize’s splitter for a 114 mph exit velocity. Meadows misplayed the line drive in center field when he lost the ball in the sun, resulting in Cruz’s double.
After that, Cruz scored from second base on McKinstry’s throwing error. The ball skipped past an outstretched Torkelson at first base, and when he sauntered to retrieve it in foul territory, Cruz surprised everyone by sprinting home.
The mistakes from Meadows, McKinstry and Torkelson let the Pirates secure a 3-0 lead.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers score: Tigers fall 8-5 to Pirates for 8th loss in 9 games