CLEVELAND — Justin Verlander had a deliberate sense of urgency in the eighth inning Thursday in Cleveland. Too bad his teammates couldn't match his intensity.
Verlander struck out the side, throwing 102 miles an hour on his 116th pitch, before putting Asdrubal Cabrera away on an 84-mile-an hour curveball; one that Cabrera had no chance on.
Yet the Tigers couldn't manage to tie the game against Indians closer Chris Perez (16 saves) in the ninth, getting only a pinch-hit single from Ramon Santiago.
In the end, the Indians got a 2-1 victory and a three-game sweep to improve to 26-18 while the Tigers fell to a lackluster 20-24.
"I was trying to light a spark," Verlander said. "I felt like maybe if I was able to go out there and just dominate an inning, get our guys back in there quick, maybe something would happen.
"Obviously that's asking a lot off a closer like Perez. He's been great for those guys. But we're more than capable."
Being capable is one thing. Delivering is quite another. More often than not this season, and certainly of late, the Tigers have not delivered.
As Memorial Day weekend approaches and the Tigers head to Minnesota, it's now no longer about the weather or missing starter Doug Fister or Prince Fielder getting acclimated to the American League.
It's about finding a way to get it done.
"It's not mystifying, that's the game of baseball," Verlander said. "It's just disappointing the way we've been playing as a team. Obviously I think we all expected better.
"You can only say it's still early for so long. We've got to get this thing turned around."
There was no turning anything around in Cleveland. In fact, the Tigers seemed to regress after Max Scherzer's 15-strikeout, 4-3 victory Sunday over Pittsburgh.
In the three games in Cleveland, the Tigers left 30 men on base. Thirty! The 3-4-5 batters for the Tigers — Miguel Cabrera, Fielder and Delmon Young — went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Cabrera was 0-for-6, Fielder was 0-for-5 and Young was 0-for-1. In all, the Tigers hit 3-for-28 (.107) with runners in scoring position.
"Pretty much the same story," manager Jim Leyland said. "Verlander was terrific, obviously. Six hits, one a pinch-hit. No big hits. Kind of a broken record really right now.
"(There were) men out there again today but no big hits to get anybody home."
Both Leyland and first-base coach Tom Brookens were ejected in the fifth inning when Indians starter Justin Masterson was not called for a balk with speedster Quintin Berry at first base.
"Obviously Tommy knew, and I did as well, that he got away with one," Leyland said. "But that had nothing to do with us leaving the guys on base.
"We're really out of sync right now, without question. But the bulk of it is we're not hitting, we're not scoring runs."
Verlander fell to 5-2 despite a 2.15 ERA. Fister is 0-2 with a 1.84 ERA. Even rookie Drew Smyly, who is 1-1, has a 2.89 ERA. Scherzer and Rick Porcello have been up and down at 5.73 and 5.29, respectively, but the offense was supposed to be able to cover up for some bad starts.
"Pure and simple, we're not hitting good enough, we're not getting pitches to hit with men on base and when we are, we're not hitting," Leyland said. "In a lot of cases, we're swinging at pitches out of the strike zone with men on base, a little anxious, maybe overanxious. That's what it boils down to.
"I'm not going to make excuses. I'll defend (our guys), I love them, they're playing hard, they're trying. We're just not getting it done right now.
"I'm not down on anybody but you're asking me why we're not winning games, well, it's pretty obvious. We're not scoring runs. And that's supposed to be our strong suit."
As one of the leaders of the team, Verlander said he didn't feel it was time for a team meeting or anything like that. But he emphatically said for him, at least, it was no longer "too early" to be concerned.
"I think we just gotta find our groove and we've got to find it quickly," Verlander said. "We're a good team, we know that. I think because we know we're good, it's a little easy to sit back and say, OK, it's early, we'll find it, we'll find it.
"At some point, it's not early anymore and you're going to have to make adjustments to find it as a team. It's the game of baseball, that's why it's played on the field, not on paper."
NOTES
- Assistant general manager Al Avila announced after the game that Austin Jackson was returning to Detroit to get an MRI on his abdominal strain that has kept him out for over a week.
He will go on the disabled list Friday and Ryan Raburn will join the team in Minnesota, coming off the bereavement list.
In addition, Avila said Luis Marte would be recalled Friday and would also meet the team in Minnesota and rookie Luke Petkonen would be sent to Triple-A Toledo.
- With his eight-inning outing, Verlander has now gone at least six innings in 52 straight starts. It is the longest such streak in the majors since Steve Carlton went six strong in 69 consecutive starts, lasting from Sept. 1979 to April 1982.
The only other pitchers in MLB history to reach 52 consecutive starts of six innings or more have been Bob Gibson (three times), Dazzy Vance and Catfish Hunter.
