Detroit – The mission for the Tigers is to somehow stay in the playoff race, stay within reasonable striking distance, until their wounded players return from the disabled list.
It’s starting to look like a daunting task.
And as if to demonstrate how small the club’s margin for error has become without the likes of Nick Castellanos, Cameron Maybin, Jose Iglesias and, on Tuesday, Miguel Cabrera in the lineup – another strong pitching performance by Justin Verlander resulted in a frustrating 6-1 loss to the Royals.
Verlander gave up three hits through seven innings – three solo home runs, by Raul Mondesi (his first big league homer), Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer.