CLEVELAND -- It's beginning to read like a cautionary children's book, daily calamities that appear rote whenever they occur against the Indians: The Detroit Tigers and the very, very bad day in Cleveland. Except the recurring shortcomings aren't just limited to the 44115 zip code.
Whether the Tigers square off against their American League Central foes at Comerica Park or Progressive Field, the result has been the same: 11 times these two teams have clashed this season, and 11 times the Tigers have lost.
Following Tuesday's 12-1 victory, the Indians became the first team to start a season 11-0 against a divisional foe since the 2010 Toronto Blue Jays opened the season 12-0 against the Baltimore Orioles, according to Elias Sports Bureau. And there has been no luck involved.
"They've outplayed us," manager Brad Ausmus said. "There's nothing baffling about that."
The Indians, who tied the longest active winning streak of any team over another in the majors, have just plain outclassed the Tigers on pretty much every occasion.
The day began ominously, when the team announced that starting pitcher Daniel Norris was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain. Tests revealed that he suffered only a Grade 1 strain and is expected to miss 10 to 14 days, but he was the second Tigers starter to be placed on the DL within a 24-hour span; Jordan Zimmermann was placed on the DL on Monday with a right neck strain.
Making matters worse was the last-minute scratch of third baseman Nick Castellanos, who sat out Tuesday's game with flu-like symptoms. Castellanos, who went 2-for-4 including a home run, a double and two RBIs in Monday's loss, is one of the few Tigers who have managed to scrape together any success against Indians pitchers.
Making a spot start in Zimmermann's absence, Anibal Sanchez did not exactly seize his shot at redemption. Sanchez, who has been relegated to the bullpen twice this season as a result of his precipitous decline, gave up seven runs on five hits and walked four batters over just 4 1/3 innings of work Tuesday. He was hardly a match for Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco, who was outstanding in holding the Tigers to just one run on three hits in six innings of work.
"I've never seen anything like it," relief pitcher Mark Lowe told ESPN.com about the team's current skein against the Indians. "They're doing a good job of getting a lead early, and when they do that, they're not letting up."
And while the Indians have built comfortable leads and piled on from there, the Tigers continue to struggle to gain any traction against the AL Central leaders. Whether it's injury, or illness, or a miscue by youngster Steven Moya in the outfield, it always seems to be something.
That simmering sense of futility was magnified in the sixth inning when Miguel Cabrera was tossed from the game after arguing a call by first base umpire Tim Timmons. Cabrera was justifiably upset, and he was visibly agitated, gesturing and yelling towards the officiating crew after they ruled a fair ball and ground out on a ball that appeared to glance off his shin. Cabrera, who unleashed a profanity-laced tirade after the at-bat, was so agitated that Ausmus emerged from the dugout in an attempt to save his star slugger from getting ejected.
It didn't work.
"As a hitter, when you feel like the bat is taken out of your hands, that can push you over the edge," Ausmus said.
It was a sour ending to what should have been an uplifting day for Cabrera, who was named to the 2016 All-Star Game as a reserve first baseman, his 11th All-Star selection.
Even this announcement was met with mixed reaction, because many Tigers fans and teammates felt that second baseman Ian Kinsler had been snubbed in voting.
Kinsler, a 34-year-old veteran who is hitting .288 with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs, was passed over in favor of youngster Jose Altuve of the Astros and reserve Robinson Cano of Seattle. Kinsler leads all second basemen with 68 runs, is tied for second with 16 homers, and ranks third in both RBIs (52) and WAR (3.0), according to ESPN Stats and Info.
"Extremely surprised," utility player Mike Aviles said of Kinsler not making the team. "Because I've been watching it since Day 1 of spring training. I mean, he had an awesome spring, and he took it right into the season, and he's been banging the entire time. It's always unfortunate when there's an All-Star snub."
