For the second straight day, Tigers pitching blew a lead and sent a near capacity crowd home disappointed. Relief pitchers Justin Wilson and Mark Lowe combined to give up seven runs in the 7th inning as the Rangers stunned the Tigers 8-3. Wilson, who gave up three combined runs in his outings on Friday and Saturday, allowed back-to-back singles to start the eighth. Mark Lowe came on in relief and failed to get out of the jam, allowing both of Wilson's runners to score and then giving up a game-winning grand slam to Bobby Wilson, the catcher the Tigers dealt back to the Rangers earlier this week. Delino DeShields followed with another bomb to give the Rangers back-to-back jacks for the second consecutive game. The events of the 8th inning spoiled an otherwise banner day for Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander. On Friday night, Rangers manager Jeff Bannister called on staff ace Cole Hamels to put a halt to the team's three game losing streak. On Sunday, the Tigers former MVP and Cy Young winner was put in charge of stopping a season long five game skid. Verlander did his part in living up to a promise he made after getting roughed up the Indians earlier in the week. Justin Verlander on Twitter I'm going to dominate soon! I'm close. Doubt me if you want... We'll see. #gotigers Justin Verlander looked very good on Sunday afternoon. Verlander's assortment kept the Rangers off balance throughout all seven innings of his outing. In fact, the Rangers really didn't hit a ball "hard" until Prince Fielder lined in to a double play to end the sixth inning. Verlander left with a "Bang" by recording his ninth strikeout of the game, a punch out of DeShields to wrap up the 7th inning. Verlander's final line: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 111 pitches (71 strikes) Rangers starter Martin Perez ran into trouble in the 3rd inning as the Tigers staged a 2-out rally complements of three walks including a bases loaded one by Justin Upton which gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead shortly after an RBI ground-ruled double by Miguel Cabrera opened the scoring. Aside from that 37-pitch third inning, Perez cruised for much of the afternoon. In fact, Perez held the Tigers hit-less aside from the two he allowed in that 3rd inning. Perez's final line: 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 7 K, 105 pitches (64 strikes) BRAD AUSMUS: "I UNDERSTAND I'M IN THE CROSSHAIRS" (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) Brad Ausmus addressed what everyone wants to know: Does he feel the pressure and how does he react to it. Victor Martinez also spoke out on behalf of his manager and the mounting frustration from fans. Take a listen in their words. BY THE NUMBERS DETROIT, MI - MAY 8: Bobby Wilson #6 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with teammates Mitch Moreland #18 of the Texas Rangers and Adrian Beltre #29 of the Texas Rangers after hitting a grand slam against the Detroit Tigers during the eighth inning at Comerica Park on May 8, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) 1,985 - Career strikeouts for Justin Verlander after he struck out nine on Sunday to pass Jack Morris for 2nd place on the all-time as a Tigers pitcher 36 - Percentage of place appearances this season in which Anthony Gose has struck out - 33 in 91 PA's after Sunday's three strike out performance 36 - Percentage of inherited runners that the Tigers bullpen has allowed to score according to Fox Sports Detroit's Matt Shepard. 47 - American League leading number of strikeouts by Justin Upton following two more in Sunday's game 6 - The Tigers season long losing streak after the Rangers completed the sweep of their three game series on Sunday After Sunday's game, the Tigers are now: 5-9 at Comerica Park 1-6 vs left-handed starters 7-7 in Day games 10-1 when the Tigers score first 9-6 when the Tigers starter works 6+ innings 9-4 when the Tigers starter delivers a quality start 3-11 when they are outhit by their opponent 1-9 when the Tigers do not hit a home run 3-13 when they score four-or-less runs 13-1 when they lead after the 6th inning 13-1 when they lead after the 7th inning 0-16 when they trail after the 8th inning 6-10 vs American League League teams 4-6 vs AL West teams 1-3 on Sundays CENTRAL DIVISION W L GB STREAK CWS 22 10 -- W3 CLE 15 13 5 W1 KC 15 15 6 L1 DET 14 16 7 L6 MIN 8 23 13.5 L5 WHAT'S ON TAP... The Tigers hop back into Interleague play on Monday.(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) The Tigers have a nine game home stand in sight but first, they'll hit the road for a seven game swing in the Beltway beginning with three games in our nation's capital. Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg (5-0, 2.36) welcomes the Tigers to town on Monday while Detroit counters with Anibal Sanchez (3-3, 5.87). First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. Follow Denny Kapp on Twitter: @DennyKapp The post AUDIO: Ausmus "In the Crosshairs", Tigers Skid Hits Six Games appeared first on Detroit Sports 1051.
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