Brad Ausmus ejected, bats go cold as Detroit Tigers lose 7th straight
George Sipple
SAN DIEGO – The Detroit Tigers wasted one of the best starts of the season by Michael Fulmer.
The Tigers lost to the Padres, 1-0, on Friday night at Petco Park. The Tigers extended their losing streak to seven games.
Fulmer gave up a leadoff walk in the second inning to Cory Spangenberg, who went on to score on a two-out double to right-center by Austin Hedges, the Padres’ No. 8 hitter.
“Guys are playing hard, we just haven’t been able to push the runs across,” said Tigers catcher Alex Avila, who was 1-for-2 with a walk.
Andrew Romine (1-for-3) and John Hicks had the only other hits for the Tigers.
The offensive struggles came against right-hander Luis Perdomo, who didn’t pick up his first win of the season until his 11th start. Perdomo limited the Tigers to two hits over six shutout innings.
“I think they are frustrated,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus – who was ejected in the eighth inning – said of his players. “I don’t see so much pressing.”
Fulmer allowed one run on two hits over seven innings. He walked four and struck out eight.
“Fulmer was outstanding,” Ausmus said. “We just didn’t muster up any runs. We hit some balls hard.”
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Ausmus said the players were pulling for each other in the dugout and had good energy.
“Just waiting for that one thing to turn everything around,” Ausmus said. “When you force it, that’s what pressing is.”
Justin Upton said the Tigers are just trying to get good at-bats. He was 0-for-2 with a pair of walks.
Hicks hit a pinch-hit leadoff double in an 11-pitch at-bat in the eighth inning. But Ian Kinsler and pinch-hitter Nick Castellanos struck out, before Miguel Cabrera grounded out to shortstop.
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“Feel good about having the leadoff hitter on second,” Ausmus said. “But then Kinsler’s out on a supposed swing, which I think was a check-swing. Now it’s a different story.”
Ausmus was ejected after the check-swing strikeout by Kinsler.
The Tigers had plenty of early chances to score off Perdomo, who walked three batters in the first two innings and five over the first four innings.
Perdomo gave up back-to-back walks to Alex Avila and Cabrera in the first inning with one out, before J.D. Martinez grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
Perdomo gave up a leadoff walk to Upton in the second inning. But Dixon Machado struck out swinging and Romine grounded into another double play.
“We had some baserunners, especially early,” Ausmus said. “We had some walks. But he always seemed to get a double play at a big time and erase what was out there.”
Perdomo was just the latest pitcher that was made to look better by the Tigers’ hitters.
“In the last week we have not hit some relatively unknown pitchers,” Ausmus said. “That doesn’t mean they aren’t good or didn’t have good days. They just aren’t household names.”
Avila said the Tigers had opportunities against Perdomo.
“It’s kind of been the same story this road trip,” Avila said. “You gotta continue to play until that one game where we’re able to get that one hit and hopefully the floodgate open up.
“I’m not any more frustrated than I have been on this road trip. I mean, a loss is a loss. You lose 1-0 or 6-0. Guys are playing hard. We just haven’t been able to push the runs across when we’ve needed to.”
Contact George Sipple: gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple. Download our Tigers Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!