1994 — In a 7-1 loss to the Indians, the Tigers’ string of 25 straight games of hitting a home run ends. The streak tied the major-league record set by the 1941 Yankees.
1980 — White Sox reliever Ed Farmer swears he will take criminal action against Detroit’s Al Cowens following an on-field brawl at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.Cowens hit a grounder to short, and then charged the mound instead of running to first. He wanted to deliver justice for an incident a year earlier when a Farmer pitch shattered Cowens’ jaw.
1961 – Al Kaline plays third base for the first time in his career. His two hits and two RBIs lead the Tigers to a 5-4 win over the Senators. Kaline will return to the outfield and play third just once more in his career, in 1965.
1914 — The Tigers lose the services of Ty Cobb when he breaks his thumb in a fight with a butcher’s clerk. Cobb will be out until August 13.
1911 — Ty Cobb breaks the American League hitting streak record with an infield single against Cleveland’s Willie Mitchell. It is Cobb’s 30th straight game with a hit. He adds two stolen bases to help the Tigers win, 8-3.
The Tigers went 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position, and fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 tonight at Comerica.
The loss ended the Tigers’ season high 7-game win streak, and snapped a 14-game road losing streak for the D’Backs. The last road win for Arizona came on May 17th in Florida.
In his return to Detroit, former Tiger Edwin Jackson was strong, pitching into the eighth inning. Jackson allowed three earned on nine hits and four strikeouts. He was very effective at mixing his pitches, throwing far less fastballs than we had grown accostumed to in the Motor City.
Although the Tigers did manage to score five times tonight, two of which can be attributed directly to errors, they were unable to find hits with runners on base. There’s no where to place blame either, as all nine hitters in the lineup contributed to the 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
One bright spot was Tiger catcher Alex Avila, who went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. The RBI came on singles in the second and sixth innings.
The Tigers welcome the Diamondbacks to town this weekend and it will be a series dripping with irony and plot lines.
Some will focus on the return of Dontrelle Willis and Edwin Jackson. Others will welcome back D-backs’ bench coach and Tigers legend (at least in my mind) Kirk Gibson.
Still others may peer at Arizona shortstop Stephen Drew and imagine him alongside Carlos Guillen in the Tigers infield.
No matter what your perspective this weekend, the Tigers are entering another series that is winnable, if not sweepable. (Hint: The D-backs are 9-25 on the road this season.)