It Just Keeps Getting Worse for the Tigers

MINNEAPOLIS —  Even with a two-run lead in the eighth inning, the Detroit Tigers couldn’t win.

For that matter, they couldn’t even keep it close Sunday.

Pinch-hitter David Ortiz, who was hitless in his last 16 at-bats, hit a tiebreaking, bases-loaded triple during an eight-run eighth inning and the winless Tigers lost their 11th consecutive game, 13-7, to the Minnesota Twins.

“It’s getting tougher,” Bobby Higginson said. “You keep thinking when you’re coming into the ballpark that today’s going to be the day. It’s getting a little old.”

Craig Paquette homered twice, had four hits and made a nice defensive play at third to help the Tigers go ahead, 7-5--their first eighth-inning lead since April 3 against Tampa Bay, when they lost, 2-1, in 12 innings.

“I literally thought to myself, today is the day,” Tiger starter Steve Sparks said.

“We’ve got the ball bouncing our way. I thought we’d cruise through there. I thought we’d cruise through there, especially when Paquette hit that home run.”

But it was Ortiz who broke a slump, not the Tigers.

A.J. Pierzynski singled off Jose Paniagua leading off in the eighth, Matt Anderson (0-1) relieved and pinch-hitter Bobby Kielty tied the game hitting a homer on the third pitch.

“My fastball wasn’t there, but we’re all professionals. We’ve got find something else to get them out with,” Anderson said.

“It’s difficult, but it’s 7-7 if we get out of that inning and we’ve got the momentum. I just couldn’t shut them down after that homer.”

Jacque Jones and Cristian Guzman followed with singles, Doug Mientkiewicz walked and Ortiz tripled to right for a 10-7 lead.

“Sometimes, when I face him, he tries to get me with the off-speed,” he said. “That one I hit was slider.”

Torii Hunter added an RBI single off Juan Acevedo, who later walked Kielty with the bases loaded and gave up Jones’ sacrifice fly.

“That’s a perfect example of why you have to play a full ballgame,” Twin Manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We were fighting and clawing pretty much the whole game to stay in it.”

Detroit, which replaced Manager Phil Garner with Luis Pujols after six games, is off to its worst start since going 0-13 in 1920 and the worst in the major leagues since the 1997 Chicago Cubs began 0-14. The Tigers are off today, then start a series at home against Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

J.C. Romero (2-0), the fifth of six Minnesota pitchers, got one out for the win.

Randall Simon also homered for the Tigers, who overcame a 5-2 deficit by taking a four-run lead in the sixth off Joe Mays. Simon’s three-run homer tied the game, and Robert Fick drove in Paquette with a single off Jack Cressend for a 6-5 lead.

“We hit the ball well today,” Pujols said. “Sparks gave us some good innings. We saw some good things today.”

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*--* 0-10 1988 Atlanta Braves (54-106) Oh My Winless starts in major league history (with final record): 0-21 1988 Baltimore Orioles (54-107) 0-14 1997 Chicago Cubs (68-94) 0-13 1920 Detroit Tigers (61-93) 0-11 2002 Detroit Tigers 0-10 1968 Chicago White Sox (67-95)

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