I don’t care how short your memory is; it’s hard not to have some carryover from such a frustrating loss last night. This is going to be a tough road trip to begin with, and the fact that Detroit gave one away at the very end yesterday doesn’t exactly bode well. At the same time, it seemed this team did a good job of turning the page quickly. Kevin McGonigle started the game with a solo home run. But somebody had to take the ball for the Tigers, and unfortunately, today it was Jack Flaherty.

I’m a big believer that you have to be patient in this game. 90% of the way through last year, we thought this team was capable of winning the World Series, and then they didn't even win their own division. Things can change very quickly. With that said, and I brought it up in the video, we’re coming up on a long time now in which Jack Flaherty has been an inconsistent pitcher, and tonight was rock-bottom for him. It is something that we’ve rarely seen from this team this year, even in their losses, which is a starting pitcher who didn’t even give them a remote chance to be competitive in this game. You thought maybe Kevin McGonigle‘s home run was going to spark something, but the sad truth is that McGonigle would’ve needed to hit about six home runs tonight to match what the Reds were doing to Flaherty.

At the moment, because of the injuries, I think you’re stuck with going with Flaherty every fifth day. Maybe you could get a little creative and use an opener to see if you can mix things up. But this is a pitching staff and a pitching coach who have taken pride in their strike-throwing. You’re not going to be able to get anywhere under Chris Fetter‘s tutelage if you’re not consistently throwing strikes, and Jack Flaherty is doing the opposite right now. He has become a real problem.

It’s not as if the rest of the pitching staff isn’t somehow exempt from criticism, but most nights you’re going to expect more from your starting pitcher. We know the middle relief is bad right now, and we got another injury tonight with Connor Seabold being removed from the game after falling over when he was throwing a pitch. We’ve seen an unfortunate amount of Three Stooges-level buffoonery to begin this campaign.

Detroit will try to avoid the sweep tomorrow in a day game against the Reds. Cater Montero will be taking the ball for the Tigers, and youngster Rhett Lowder will get the ball for Cincinnati.