Detroit Tigers slide in standings

The Detroit Tigers opened May 14 at 19-24, four games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central and outside the early playoff picture. MLB.com’s standings page listed Detroit in third place through games of May 13, with a 3-7 mark over its last 10 and a minus-5 run differential. (baseball-reference.com) Baseball-Reference’s team page showed a similar picture beneath the surface: a 21-21 Pythagorean record against an actual 19-23 mark entering the day, suggesting a club that had played close games but not converted enough of them. (mlb.com) A 10-2 loss to the New York Mets on May 13 added to that slide. (mlb.com) Baseball-Reference’s daily scores page showed Detroit falling behind another American League Central rival in the standings race after dropping its second straight game. The Tigers had scored 179 runs and allowed 184 through May 13, numbers that placed them near even overall but not high enough to offset the recent losses. ### How far have the Tigers actually fallen? MLB.com’s standings on May 13 showed Detroit at 19-24, tied with Minnesota and Kansas City in the loss column but behind both Cleveland and Chicago in the division. (mlb.com) Cleveland led the Central at 24-21, while the White Sox were second at 21-21. Detroit was also two games back in the wild-card column. The recent form is the sharper concern. MLB.com listed Detroit at 3-7 over its last 10 games and on a two-game losing streak entering May 14. That stretch has turned what had been a roughly break-even start into a sub-.500 record by mid-May. (baseball-reference.com) ### Where is the record hurting them most? The road split stands out. MLB.com listed the Tigers at 7-18 away from home and 12-6 at Comerica Park through May 13. A team that has been strong at home but has won fewer than one-third of its road games has had little room for error in the division race. (mlb.com) Baseball-Reference’s team page showed Detroit with 177 runs scored and 181 allowed entering May 14, a narrow gap that usually points to a more even record than 19-23. That mismatch does not explain every loss, but it shows the Tigers have not been buried by run differential alone. (mlb.com) ### Is this a pitching problem, a hitting problem, or both? Baseball-Reference’s team page showed Detroit with 181 runs allowed and 177 scored entering May 14, which points to modest production on both sides rather than one overwhelming weakness. (mlb.com) StatMuse’s team snapshot through 43 games listed the Tigers with a.242 batting average,.325 on-base percentage and.388 slugging percentage, along with a 3.94 ERA. Those figures placed the club closer to the middle of the league in run prevention than in impact offense. (baseball-reference.com) The strikeout and home-run totals also suggest uneven offense. StatMuse listed Detroit with 38 home runs but 362 strikeouts through 43 games. The Tigers were getting some extra-base production, but not enough consistent contact to keep rallies moving during the recent skid. ### What do the rotation numbers say? Tarik Skubal remained Detroit’s most effective starter as of May 14. ESPN’s game log listed Skubal at 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA, 45 strikeouts, a 0.95 WHIP and only six walks in 43.1 innings, though Baseball-Reference identified him as being on the 15-day injured list. (baseball-reference.com) Jack Flaherty’s line has gone the other way. ESPN listed Flaherty at 0-3 with a 5.56 ERA and 26 walks in 34 innings, and Baseball-Reference’s May 13 scores page showed him taking the loss in the 10-2 defeat to the Mets. For a club trying to stay near.500, those innings have added pressure to the rest of the staff. (statmuse.com) ### What comes next on the schedule? MLB.com listed Detroit’s next game as May 14 at the Mets, with the club then scheduled to return home for a May 15 game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The standings page and Baseball-Reference team page will show whether the Tigers can halt the slide before the gap in the Central widens further. (espn.com) (mlb.com) (espn.com)