Detroit Tigers’ skid hits five after just three hits in 1-0 loss at Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — Taijuan Walker carved up the Detroit Tigers.

Walker, a right-hander who entered Tuesday’s start with a 5.65 ERA, rolled past the Tigers just like the last four right-handed starting pitchers in the previous four games, including Aaron Nola in Monday’s series opener. This time, Walker fired seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.

The Tigers lost, 1-0, to the Philadelphia Phillies in the second of three games at Citizens Bank Park. Slugger Kyle Schwarber hit a leadoff home run off left-hander Tyler Alexander, and the score never changed.

The Tigers (26-33) have dropped five games in a row.

“Losing the game is bad because it was a winnable game,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “On the offensive side, obviously, it’s a continuation of our struggle. We just haven’t been able to do enough offensively. One opportunity, maybe two, and we didn’t do anything with it. That, against a team in a close game with the talent they have, it’s tough to win.”

LIFE WITHOUT GREENE: Tigers, searching for batting answers, know they must ‘scratch and claw’ for runs

DOMINANT DEBUT: Calm, in control and nasty: How Reese Olson pitched a gem in MLB debut with Tigers

Walker allowed two hits, walked three batters and lowered his ERA to 5.04. After his dominance, two right-handed relievers out of the Phillies’ bullpen finished off the Tigers’ lowly offense.

Seranthony Domínguez and Craig Kimbrel fired scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Kimbrel struck out three straight batters: Nick Maton, Akil Baddoo and Zack Short.

“There’s always some chase involved, there’s always some early count contact,” Hinch said. “We didn’t put as much pressure on Walker as we probably could have. Part of that is the splitter below the zone, which is where he gets his chase, part of that is our guys trying to do a little bit too much. We continue to encourage these guys. We’ve got to find ways to score runs. You can’t win without runs, and we’re trying.”

The Tigers went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

The offense is 2-for-30 with runners in scoring position in the five-game losing streak. Detroit has scored nine runs across 53 innings, spanning six games, since 22-year-old center fielder Riley Greene — the best player on offense — was placed on the injured list with a stress reaction in his left fibula.

“Our bullpen did an incredible job in a game where we leaned on a lot of guys for a lot of innings in a tough environment and a tough place to pitch,” Hinch said. “They threw a ton of strikes, missed some bats, and we played some defense behind them. Love those guys for their effort and their production.”

Offense still powerless

Desperate for a spark, the Tigers wasted their best scoring opportunity by stranding the bases loaded in the fifth inning.

It’s been the same outcome recently.

“It’s frustrating,” Hinch said. “We’re working with our guys and trying to keep them positive because one common thing that I’m seeing is a ton of frustration.”

INJURY UPDATES: Tigers’ Eduardo Rodriguez cleared for catch; Matt Manning ready for rehab start

TALKING TO EXPERTS: Doctors explain when Tigers’ Eduardo Rodriguez, Riley Greene could return from injuries

With one out, Short and Miguel Cabrera produced back-to-back hits — a bloop single from Short and a line-drive double from Cabrera — to put two runners in scoring position. Jake Rogers drew an eight-pitch walk to load the bases.

But Jake Marisnick struck out swinging on a down-and-in splitter, and Zach McKinstry lined out to center field. McKinstry’s line drive was hit with a 106.5 mph exit velocity and had a .770 expected batting average.

“I kind of hit it right at him,” McKinstry said. “I hit it hard, but too much at him. That’s baseball.”

Bullpen pieces it together

The Tigers received three innings from Alexander, the starter for the bullpen-only game. Schwarber rocked Alexander’s 91.9 mph fastball for a game-changing leadoff home run and a 1-0 lead.

After that, Alexander retired the next nine batters.

“Nothing changed, even after the homer,” Alexander said. “I thought I pitched the Schwarber at-bat well, and then I pitched every at-bat after that well, as well. It’s keeping the same mentality of throwing strikes and getting ahead (in counts).”

HE’S BACK: Outfielder Akil Baddoo returns to 2021 form — only better — to help Tigers

A LEFTY IN PHILLY: ‘Consistent playing time’ leads ex-Tiger Kody Clemens to success in role with Phillies

Alexander, making his first start of the season, struck out three. He has the third-most career starts on the Tigers’ current roster, with 42 starts, behind only Matthew Boyd (156) and Michael Lorenzen (53).

“He collected himself and got us back through Schwarber again, which was our strategy,” Hinch said. “We wanted to get it back to (Nick) Castellanos, and he kept it exactly where it was after the first batter of the game. I had no doubt he would be able to keep his composure and keep himself together. He definitely made pitches.”

Right-hander José Cisnero pitched a scoreless fourth inning with one strikeout.

Left-hander Tyler Holton covered the next two innings, working out a pair of hits without allowing a run, to get the Tigers’ pitching staff through six innings. Spectacular defensive players from Short at second base and Baddoo in left field accounted for all three outs in the fifth inning.

Righty Will Vest pitched the seventh and eighth innings.

“We’re electric,” Alexander said. “We’re awesome.”

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.