Drew Anderson, Troy Melton the silver linings in miserable Tigers loss
Detroit starter Drew Anderson exceeded expectations in his first-ever start for the Tigers.
The Detroit Tigers , now 20-30 over the first 50 games of the season, are pretty desperate for wins. And with the team 4-14 in May and currently on a five-game losing streak, it'll have to settle for silver linings on cloudy days like these. The Tigers lost, 3-2, in 10 innings against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, May 20, falling despite taking a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning.
They wasted a brilliant first start from journeyman pitcher Drew Anderson, but as silver linings go, Anderson's performance was a pretty strong one. Anderson pitched 4⅔ brilliant innings, allowing two hits and zero runs while striking out a career-high seven batters. It was Anderson's first MLB start since Aug.
7 2021 , with the Texas Rangers, before the veteran righty began a four-year journey pitching for the Hiroshima Carp in Japan's NPB (2022-23) and for the SSG Landers in Korea's KBO (2024-25). And for a Tigers team missing a chunk of its top-line starters, getting nearly five shutout innings from Anderson was exactly what the struggling team needed. "He gave us everything he possibly could and more," manager A.
J. Hinch said. "That type of efficiency, and that in a bullpen game, where we have been scrambling to try to find a way to piece together these games and still have pitching for tomorrow, I thought he was awesome.