Detroit Tigers waste sharp outing from Michael Lorenzen in 2-0 loss to Cleveland Guardians

CLEVELAND — The Detroit Tigers stranded runners like it was April again.

Right-hander Michael Lorenzen threw seven innings of one-run ball without any walks for his best start of the season. He gave the Tigers an excellent chance to beat the Cleveland Guardians, only for the offense to finish 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position and strand 12 runners.

The Tigers lost, 2-0, to the Guardians on Tuesday at Progressive Field.

"Every inning, we had traffic but couldn't really come up with a big hit," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "Baserunning mistake gave us a tougher job in the eighth, and they scored just enough. Pitch selection was probably not our best when we needed it the most."

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The Tigers (16-19) hit .189 with runners in scoring position through their first 27 games, but during the first seven games in May, the Tigers had hit .306 with runners in scoring position.

Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber, facing the Tigers for the 13th time in his career, twirled six scoreless innings on seven hits and one walk with nine strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches.

In total, the Tigers posted nine hits, three walks and 12 strikeouts against five pitchers. And in each of the first eight innings, the Tigers advanced at least one runner into scoring position.

Time and time again, they failed to produce the key hit to tie the game or take the lead.

Spencer Torkelson drilled a leadoff double in the eighth inning, but the Tigers stranded him at third base on three consecutive outs from Jonathan Schoop, Matt Vierling and Andy Ibáñez.

Torkelson didn't tag up on Schoop's line-drive flyout to center field.

"It was hit hard, but his objective there is to get to third," Hinch said. "I think he got caught watching the play a little bit or he read it over his head. We'll talk to him. I think it was just a play where he was overaggressive with his first read. Even if that ball gets by (the center fielder), and it ends up first and third or second and third, still no outs. We definitely want to get to third base on that."

"In the eighth inning, we grinded our ass off for that one opportunity," Torkelson said. "I didn't tag up. I didn't get to third. And then Vierling hits what should have been a sacrifice fly. That's my bad."

The Guardians increased their lead to 2-0 in the eighth inning, scoring the first run since the first inning, when Amed Rosario hit right-handed reliever José Cisnero's full-count fastball for an RBI triple with two outs.

The Tigers were sent down by closer Emmanuel Clase, who worked around a one-out single by Zach McKinstry, in the ninth inning.

"Flush it," Torkelson said. "We'll be back ready to go tomorrow."

Undeserved L for Lorenzen

The Guardians needed three batters to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning, courtesy of Steven Kwan's double, Rosario's single and José Ramírez's sacrifice fly. After that, Lorenzen refused to allow any more runs.

His final 23 batters faced had three hits, with two of those coming from Rosario.

"We made a really good (mechanical) adjustment with the changeup," Lorenzen said. "I haven't had my changeup all year, so we did a deep dive. We were able to confirm what the issue was, and I was pretty confident with it today. That's the changeup I've been looking for all year."

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A two-out single from Rosario provided a chance for the Guardians in the third inning, but Lorenzen struck out Ramírez with an up-and-away 95.8 mph fastball. In the fifth, Lorenzen received help from Báez.

The Guardians had a runner on second base when the shortstop made an unbelievable diving stop to keep the ball from rolling into the outfield. His defensive wizardry saved a run, and his clean throw to first ended the fifth inning.

Next, Vierling helped out his pitcher in the sixth inning with his strong throwing arm from right field. He threw out Rosario trying to turn a single into a double. Báez applied the tag at second for the first out.

"I used to hate Javy," Lorenzen said. "Being in Cincinnati and having to play against him for six, seven years, I couldn't stand it, but it's nice to be on his team. A leadoff double that turns into an out. That tag from Javy is incredible. He's unbelievable."

Lorenzen retired Ramírez and Naylor to complete the sixth inning.

The 31-year-old allowed one run on five hits across seven innings. He completed seven innings for the second start in a row. This time, he struck out three batters and didn't concede a walk, throwing 77 of 98 pitches for strikes.

"I thought he was great," Hinch said. "He pounded the zone. The finish fastball was good. His secondary stuff was pretty good. He pitched ahead. ... He was doing a lot with his weapons and getting through their lineup."

Lorenzen threw 35 four-seam fastballs, 25 changeups, 23 sliders, 11 sinkers and four sweepers. He generated 13 whiffs — including seven with his changeup — and 17 called strikes.

Six missed chances

The Tigers let Bieber off the hook.

Eight runners were stranded, to be exact, in the first six innings. The Tigers advanced at least one runner into scoring position in each of the first six innings, but through those six innings, they went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

In the first inning, Nick Maton struck out to strand Riley Greene at second base. In the second inning, Jake Rogers struck out and McKinstry flew out to strand the bases loaded.

"He got us to really expand," Hinch said. "He never let up on the secondary pitch. Really nobody on our team saw many fastballs, and he continued to exploit us with some soft contact and winning the big at-bats. He was relentless. That's one of the reasons he's a really good pitcher."

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Maton, serving as the Tigers' cleanup hitter, struck out in all three plate appearances against Bieber. He looked overmatched as Bieber poured in breaking balls and offspeed pitches below the strike zone.

Although Maton hammers fastballs (.224), his batting average is putrid against breaking balls (.129) and offspeed pitches (.000). On Tuesday, Bieber threw more sliders (31) than any other pitch in his arsenal.

His slider generated nine of his 19 swings and misses.

In the third inning, Báez — despite a magical slide — was thrown out at home plate by right fielder Will Brennan on Torkelson's single. In the fourth inning, Rogers grounded out to strand Akil Baddoo at second base. In the fifth, Maton struck out to strand McKinstry at second base.

Maton is hitting .163 in 34 games this season.

In the sixth inning, Ibáñez grounded into a double play to strand Torkelson and Baddoo on the bases. Ibáñez and Baddoo were involved in the inning-ending double play while Torkelson ran to third base.

Torkelson finished 3-for-4 and is hitting .409 in his past five games.

"I think I learned from all the at-bats against right-handed hitters," Torkelson said. "(Bieber) was staying away, so I had to set my edge on the outer half and not go too far out there and get the ball closer to me. That's what I did."

Next up: Guardians

Matchup: Tigers (16-19) at Cleveland (17-19), series finale.

First pitch: 1:10 p.m. Wednesday; Progressive Field, Cleveland.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

Probable pitchers: Tigers — LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-2, 1.81 ERA); Guardians — RHP Peyton Battenfield (0-3, 4.07).

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers go 1-for-15 on RISP in 2-0 loss to Cleveland Guardians