DENVER — A five-run second inning doomed the Detroit Tigers.
Right-hander Michael Lorenzen allowed five singles to the Colorado Rockies, including a two-run single to ex-Tiger Harold Castro, before recording an out in the second inning. He avoided trouble for most of his five-inning start, but a stretch of six batters in the early going Friday made the difference.
The Tigers lost, 8-5, to the Rockies in the series opener at Coors Field.
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Although the Tigers (35-46) collected nine hits, the offense failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position, finishing 1-for-7 in those situations. Two runners were stranded in both the first and fourth innings against left-hander Austin Gomber, who entered Friday with a 7.01 ERA in 16 starts.
The Rockies, unlike the Tigers, took advantage of their opportunity in the second inning.
Six consecutive batters reached safely to open the inning with singles from CJ Cron, Nolan Jones, Ezequiel Tovar, Castro and Jurickson Profar. Brenton Doyle put down a sacrifice bunt that didn’t result in any outs to load the bases before Profar’s single.
Castro, who played for the Tigers from 2018-22, drove in two runs with his single, while Profar drove in two runs with his single. The Rockies increased their lead to 5-0 when Kris Bryant grounded into a double play.
Lorenzen allowed five runs on seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts across five innings, throwing 63 of 95 pitches for strikes. He threw his slider 33 times, more than any other pitch, but the Rockies whiffed just twice on 16 swings.
He has a 6.28 ERA in his past five starts.
In the sixth inning, Tovar launched a three-run home run off a first-pitch splitter from left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve. The inning started with a leadoff walk from Cron and a single from Jones.
The homer put the Rockies ahead, 8-3.
Climbing the mountains
Gomber, the Rockies’ starter, came into Friday’s outing with a National League-leading 19 home runs allowed in 77 innings.
The Tigers put a small dent into the Rockies’ lead, cutting the deficit to 5-1, when Spencer Torkelson grounded out in the third inning. But Jake Marisnick deserves credit, in more ways than one, for the first run.
Marisnick opened the inning with a single. He stole second base (on Matt Vierling’s strikeout) and advanced to third base on a throwing error at second by catcher Elias Diaz. His instincts on the bases opened the door for Torkelson to drive him in.
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The fourth inning seemed promising for the Tigers.
Four straight batters reached safely: Javier Báez (single), Jake Rogers (single), Miguel Cabrera (single) and Zach McKinstry (walk). Cabrera’s single made it 5-2, and a wild pitch by Gomber made it 5-3.
The missed opportunities
After the two runs in the fourth inning, McKinstry drew his walk to put runners on first and second base with nobody out. The Tigers were in a position to crush Gomber, but instead, the next three batters were sent down in order.
Zack Short flew out to center field.
Marisnick struck out swinging.
Vierling grounded out.
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The Tigers also missed out on runs in the first inning, coming up empty, when Báez and Rogers struck out swinging. The back-to-back strikeouts, both on breaking balls, stranded runners on the corners.
Gomber allowed three runs (two earned runs) on six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts across seven innings, throwing 60 of 84 pitches for strikes. He generated 10 whiffs with two fastballs, four sliders, two knuckle curves and two changeups.
His ERA dropped to 6.64 through 17 starts.
Andy Ibáñez hit a two-run home run to left field in the eighth inning, cutting the Tigers’ deficit to 8-5.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers hammered early in 8-5 loss to Colorado Rockies