TAMPA -- When the rain finally stopped Friday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the weary Tigers got exactly what they didn’t need
A second straight shortened start from right-hander Jack Flaherty.
The Rays hit Flaherty early and often, spanking the Tigers, 14-8, sending Detroit to a fourth defeat in its past six games. The only saving grace was a pair of home runs from Riley Greene, who now has 17 to assume the team lead, and a two-run ninth-inning shot from Colt Keith.
The Tigers hoped for more starting-pitcher length after coming off Thursday’s marathon home doubleheader split with the Pirates, which featured a rain delay in both games.
“These guys just deserved a lot better out of me tonight, especially with getting the doubleheader [Thursday],’’ Flaherty said. “I don’t care about the numbers. I need to do better. I just have to move on.’’
After a 50-minute delay to Friday night’s first pitch following an afternoon lightning storm -- the Tigers’ 12th game with a rain delay this season -- the Rays came out with a thunderous four-run first inning. They scored four more in the third, building an 8-3 advantage.
Flaherty (5-8) lasted 2 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and eight runs while walking three and striking out three. He was coming off another poor outing, allowing seven runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Reds last Saturday.
With a 12:10 p.m. game against the Rays coming fast on Saturday, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said his pitching staff, which needed four relievers to cover 5 2/3 innings, was “not in a great spot.’’
“But we’ll be fine,’’ said Hinch, who wasn’t pleased that Detroit allowed 16 hits and six walks to Tampa Bay. “We have an off-day Monday. We’re going to grind through these two games and try to win this series. We’ve got guys who will step up.’’
Hinch said he felt Flaherty was “fighting it’’ over his last two outings.
“I know he’s frustrated,’’ Hinch said of Flaherty. “I see him going through quite a bit, trying to last deep in games and give us a chance to win and do his part, so he’ll figure it out. But this is a tough night.’’
Flaherty allowed a home run to leadoff batter Yandy Díaz on his sixth pitch of the game -- the first of two solo homers by Díaz -- and it got worse from there. The most costly moments were two-run doubles by Matt Thaiss (first inning) and Taylor Walls (which ended Flaherty’s outing in the third).
The Tigers got on the board with a third-inning Statcast-projected 432-foot three-run homer from Greene off Rays starter Shane Baz (7-3), which cut Tampa Bay's advantage to 4-3.
In the eighth, Greene crushed another homer off reliever Eric Orze, which allowed Greene to pass Spencer Torkelson for the team lead. Overall, Greene's 59 RBIs trail only Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh in the American League. Since April 23, Greene's 50 RBIs are tied with Arizona's Eugenio Suárez for the most in the Majors.
“Just trying to stick to my plan, stick to my approach, get good pitches to hit and do some damage,’’ Greene said. “It’s the game of baseball. You know you’re going to fail a lot. So just trying to stay on a roll and keep getting good pitches to hit.’’
Greene said the Tigers are enduring a challenging weekend. After Thursday’s doubleheader and flight to Tampa, Greene said he got to sleep about 4 a.m. Then there was Friday’s rain delay, followed by an early start on Saturday.
“We don’t want to make excuses, but a grind is kind of what it is,’’ Greene said. “It’s tough. We had a 15-hour day [on Thursday] or whatever it was. But it’s part of the season and we’ve got to fight. That’s the best part of this team. Whatever’s happening, we’re never out of the fight.’’
Or as Keith put it after homering in his second straight game, “We’re professionals. I don’t care what we’re faced with. We have to get through it. And we will.’’