'Tough day': Another pitching gem wasted as Tigers drop series to Marlins

Detroit — In what's becoming an unfortunate theme, the Tigers on Wednesday wasted another dominant pitching performance.

Casey Mize allowed two hits and two runs to the first two batters he faced, then was unhittable before leaving to begin the seventh inning. But the Tigers' offense was silent itself in a 2-0 loss to the Miami Marlins at Comerica Park.

Just as the night before, with Reese Olson's masterful outing, the Tigers couldn't do anything offensively to take advantage. And because of the lack of runs, the Tigers (21-22) dropped two of three games to a Miami team that came into the game with the worst win percentage in the major leagues.

BOX SCORE: Marlins 2, Tigers 0

"We've been having a hard time being consistent," manager AJ Hinch said. "But then you like those days where we knock out 10 runs or 12 runs or a bunch of hits. It's frustrating when it's this roller-coaster ride of success and failure. We have to pull ourselves out of it again, because back-to-back games where you don't score isn't good enough.

"It's not that we're not trying. It's not that we're not trying to tweak. It's about execution, and that's the hardest thing to do at this level."

The Tigers scattered seven singles and had runners in seven of the innings, leaving 10 men on base.

"There's the definition of missed opportunities," Hinch said. "Some of them, a lot of them, had to come with two out, but we had some runners that we got on base to lead off innings and didn't advance them 90 (feet). Very tough in a series-deciding game to leave a lot of opportunities out there where a hit or two would make a big difference."

Things couldn't have begun worse for Mize.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. started the game with a single and Bryan De La Cruz followed with a 422-foot home run to center field that quickly gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead.

But Mize promptly settled down and methodically worked his way through the Miami lineup. Mize retired 18 of the next 19 hitters after the back-to-back hits to open the game.

"Threw the ball pretty well. Just made a mistake that cost us the game and I'm disappointed in that," Mize said. "But after that, I threw the ball pretty well."

Mize (1-2) completed six innings, allowing the two hits and two runs, with only one walk and six strikeouts. Of the 90 pitches Mize threw, 61 were strikes.

"Even the first hit, it was a bit of tweener played into a hit and then the home run," Hinch said. "But (Mize) settled down nicely. They're a super aggressive team, so he had to be ready for pitch one every at-bat. He pitched, which was nice to see."

The combination of Tyler Holton, Will Vest and Beau Brieske blanked Miami over the final three innings.

But Marlins pitcher Trevor Rogers bettered Mize by a sliver, eventually earning his first victory in seven decisions this season (1-6). Rogers allowed three hits and two walks over five innings, with no runs and six strikeouts.

"He just continued to mix (changeup and slider) and keep guys off balance," said catcher Carson Kelly, who had three hits. "Just a tough day. Frustrating. It's one of those things, and there's a reason we play 162 of them. You're going to run through spells like this, but you have to continue to fight through them and manufacture runs any way you can."

Four Marlins relievers combined over the final four innings to keep the Tigers scoreless.

The Tigers' best opportunity to dent Rogers was the third inning. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs, before Rogers escaped any damage by striking out Gio Urshela to end the inning.

The Tigers put two runners aboard with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Javier Báez singled and advanced to third base on Kelly's single. But relief pitcher Tanner Scott struck out Riley Greene to end the game.

"Hitting is hard," Hinch said. "And anything that we say comes across like an excuse. Actions, really, is what we need. And it's not a one-size-fits-all for 13 hitters, or 14 or 15 guys that we've had come up here."

The Tigers begin a six-game road trip Friday in Arizona, with three games each in Arizona and Kansas City.

tkulfan@detroitnews.com

@tkulfan