Detroit Tigers Must Fix These Major Problems Immediately to End Their Worst Slump of the Season
Before the All-Star break, the Detroit Tigers had the best record in Major League Baseball. But since returning to action, they’ve looked like a shadow of that team.
The Tigers have gone just 1-5 in their first six games after the break and are 1-9 in their last 10 overall. They’re 7-11 so far in July, including two sweeps — one at the hands of the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates.
Almost everything that could go wrong has gone wrong during this brutal stretch. While there isn’t one single issue to blame, there are several critical areas Detroit must address immediately if they want to stop the free fall and stay in the postseason picture.
1. Wake Up the Offense — It’s Gone Ice Cold
In their six games since the All-Star break, the Tigers have managed just nine total runs with a dismal .526 OPS. A few players like Spencer Torkelson (.318), Matt Vierling (.313), and Gleyber Torres (.304) have done their part, but the rest of the lineup has gone silent.
Key contributors from earlier in the season — including Riley Greene, Javier Báez, Zach McKinstry, and Parker Meadows — are all batting under .200 since the break. If this trend continues, the Tigers’ playoff hopes could evaporate quickly. Manager A.J. Hinch may need to shuffle the lineup or get creative to spark a turnaround.
2. Starting Pitchers (Besides Skubal) Must Deliver
Detroit’s lone post-break win came behind ace Tarik Skubal in a narrow 2-1 victory over the Rangers. But that result also highlighted another problem: the offense once again failed to produce, and the win hinged on Skubal’s dominance.
Other starters — notably Jack Flaherty and All-Star Casey Mize — have fallen flat. Neither made it past the fourth inning in their most recent starts, both posting ERAs over 9.00 and allowing opponents to hit well over .400 against them.
Their struggles are burning out the bullpen, which has had to shoulder an unsustainable workload. The Tigers simply can’t contend with only one reliable starter
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3. Eliminate Costly Mental Errors
Beyond the offensive and pitching woes, mental mistakes have also haunted Detroit. In Tuesday’s loss to the Pirates, errors on routine plays, a baserunner failing to touch home plate on a sacrifice fly, and poor hustle on ground balls all contributed to a painful defeat.
Mistakes are part of baseball, but repeated mental lapses are unacceptable — especially during a losing streak. If Detroit wants to get back on track, they must clean up the fundamentals and stop beating themselves.
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