Couldn't you just feel it coming when the Tigers trimmed the Royals 4-0 lead to 4-2 in the sixth inning—especially when Hernandez couldn't get out of the inning? With our already overworked bullpen, and with guys like Sisco, Burgos, and now Dessens struggling, we seemed destined to lose this one in the end. We did. And it wasn't really even close. The Tigers poured it on against our bullpen and won 8-5. The losing streak now stands at 11 and I really can't see an end in sight.
Mark Redman, who was scheduled to start tonight, is going to miss a start due to tightness in his left forearm. Gobble will get the spot start in Redman's place. He's pitched well at times this season, but he still has a 5.14 ERA. Mike Wood is probably more deserving of the spot start (3-0, 3.21)—especially since both are fairly equally rested. But at this point, I guess it doesn't really matter who we run out there. Whoever it is will have a hard time putting up worse numbers than our current rotation:
- Scott Elarton (0-5, 4.71)
- Runelvys Hernandez (1-3, 6.19)
- Mark Redman (0-4, 6.88)
- Denny Bautista (0-2, 3.75)
- Jeremy Affeldt (2-4, 6.51)
On the positive side (yeah, I'm still looking for one, but it gets more illusive by the day), we did hit four home runs—two of which came off the bat of Mark Grudzielanek. Sanders and Brown hit the other two. And John Buck picked up two more hits to bring his average up to .255. Doesn't seem like much, but he's never ended a season with an average that high before, so maybe he's finally getting comfortable at the plate.
Tonight, the Royals send the aforementioned Jimmy Gobble (0-0, 5.14) against Jeremy Bonderman (4-3, 4.66).
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