The first game of the final homestand of the 2017 season offered little hope that a grim September would get any better.
The Chicago White Sox had 25 hits -- including 21 singles -- to beat the Tigers 17-7 Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.
Tigers pitchers were battered, beginning with starter Chad Bell and carrying on through most of the seven relievers Tigers manager Brad Ausmus ordered into the game.
It was the third-most hits allowed by the Tigers in franchise history and the most since a memorably ugly game against the Royals in 2004.
The 21 singles were the second-most allowed in team history, behind only a 23-3 loss at Fenway Park in 1953.
The Tigers haven't allowed that many hits in a game since a 26-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals in the first game of a doubleheader on Sept. 9, 2014.
The Tigers were outhit 26-10 in that game.
The Tigers used eight pitchers and the game stretched more than 3 1/2 hours.
The Tigers extended their losing streak to six games and are 2-12 this month. They have allowed 16 runs or more three times this season.
The Tigers have lost six in a row and dropped 12 of 14 games since trading Justin Verlander and Justin Upton on Aug. 31. They've been outscored 103-47 during that span. Fuck you Ilitch and Avila!!
NOTABLE
Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario had one home run earlier this year with the Chicago Cubs; he launched his second of the year and first as a Tiger in the sixth inning.
Candelario's arrival pushed Nicholas Castellanos to right field, where he has flourished offensively.
Castellanos extended his hitting streak to 11 games on Thursday, tying a career high. He last played third base on Sept. 1. Since then, he's 18-for-44 (.409) with five doubles, three homers and 11 runs batted in.
Miguel Cabrera hit his 16th home run of the year and 462nd of his career in the third inning. He's now tied with Adam Dunn and Jose Canseco for 35th place on the all-time home run list. Next up is Dave Winfield at 465.
Cabrera has homered against White Sox starter four times in his career.
That's fourth behind Phil Hughes (7), Corey Kluber (6) and Bruce Chen (5).
The Tigers got a home run from Jeimer Candelario, his first since joining the team by way of July?s trade, when he drove a James Shields slider into the right-field seats in the sixth. He later added a double.
Ian Kinsler, of course, wasn?t taking off the afternoon after the score got a bit funky as he drove a pitch deep into the bleachers in left in the ninth. It was home run No. 18 on the season for Kinsler.
Cabrera and Castellanos also had two-hit days. Cabera?s home run was his 16th of the year, while Castellanos smacked his 22nd.
The Tigers came back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game on back-to-back home runs by Miguel Cabrera and Nick Castellanos in the third inning.
But the White Sox scored four runs in the fourth inning, four more in the sixth, three times in the seventh, twice in the eighth and once in the ninth.
Lefty Chad Bell allowed six runs on nine hits over 3 1/3 innings for the Tigers. He walked one struck out four. Righty Warwick Saupold allowed three runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings of relief.
Joe Jimenez allowed three runs on three hits and a walk in one-third of an inning for the Tigers. He also had one strikeout. He has allowed six runs over his last 4 1/3 innings.
Victor Alcantara became the sixth Tiger to pitch in the game. He made short work of loading the bases. He gave up another three runs. 16-4 White Sox.
Shane Greene came on in the ninth for what was obviously not a save situation. But Greene hasn?t appeared in a game in almost a week so it seemed like a low-stress opportunity to get him some work. Greene, following the trend of the game, loaded the bases. Why not? Greene hit a batter with the bases loaded and was pulled, bringing in Blaine Hardy, the eighth Tigers? pitcher for the game. Hardy escaped the top of the ninth unscathed.
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Cabrera, Castellanos go back-to-back: Cabrera hadn't homered at Comerica Park since July 28, but he has a history of homers off Shields. A Shields cutter low and in was enough for Cabrera to extend his arms and pull it on a line over the left-field fence for a third-inning solo shot.
Five pitches later, Castellanos turned on a curveball and sent it out to left, tying the game at 2.
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/white-s...286#game_state=final,game_tab=box,game=492286
Boxscore.
ROARS:
The Tigers? broadcast team for trying to get audiences hyped about the prospects with a fancy graphic showing how many there are.
Jeimer Candelario, who had a mighty fine day and made that prospect graphic look better as a result.
HISSES:
The yellow line in the outfield. An inch lower and it would have been a home run.
Tigers? pitching. 17 runs on 25 hits. Woof.
The Tigers have had 28 games where starter has gone fewer than 4.0 IP, 4th-most in MLB. A dozen of them since the trade deadline, six in September.