(Photo: Paul Battaglia, Associated Press)
Minneapolis — Maybe you thought Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire would give his club a pass for these two losses to the Twins this weekend.
After all, they played without two of their top hitters — Nick Castellanos (toe) and Niko Goodrum (illness) — and lost their middle infielders Jordy Mercer (quad) and Josh Harrison (shoulder) during the game Saturday.
But Gardenhire was not in a charitable mood following a frustrating 6-4 loss Sunday.
"No, I expect the guys in the lineup to step up," he said. "We need to shorten our swings up and put the ball in play a little bit.