One mistake enough for Tigers to beat Guardians; losing streak now at nine

CLEVELAND – Logan Allen made one mistake. Unfortunately, that resulted in a 1-0 loss by the Guardians to the Detroit Tigers on Saturday before 34,580 at Progressive Field. Cleveland has now lost nine in a row, as the freefall in the Central Division continued. Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson unloaded on his 20th home run of the season to lead off the second inning, which held up in the low-scoring game. The solo shot traveled an estimated 386 feet into the right-field bleachers. He's now batting a torrid .371 in his last nine games. Allen (5-7) allowed just two hits and two walks in his six innings of work. The left-hander struck out five in his third consecutive loss. It's not often a team allows two hits in a game and loses. Such is the state of the Guardians' offense, perhaps the worst in baseball. "I felt good," Allen said. "I was very efficient. I was happy to give the team a chance to win. I was happy to go deep into the game." He said the home run didn't alter his thinking in the game. The Guardians are well aware of how they are scuffling at the plate. In the nine-game losing streak — their longest since 2021 — they've scored a total of 15 runs. "I try not to put too much stock into that," Allen said. "I was still trying to attack guys. Wins are going to come. We have to stay the course and keep working." Cleveland has now been shut out five times in the last nine games. It also lost 1-0 to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. "Logan was outstanding again tonight," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "He allowed only two hits and two walks. He was absolutely outstanding." He said he has confidence things will turn around. "Our guys battled all night," Vogt said. "We're not getting that big hit. This is going to turn around. Our mindset is still in the right place." Tigers starter Casey Mize (9-2) pitched seven shutout innings and allowed four hits and two walks. The right-hander struck out four. Mize threw 102 pitches, 68 for strikes. Reliever Tommy Kahnle earned his ninth save with a scoreless ninth. He struck out pinch-hitter Kyle Manzardo for the final out. "Mize is having a great year," Vogt said. "He had us in between all night with his split-fastball combo." The Guardians got their first hit in the fourth when third baseman Jose Ramirez singled to right and stole second base. He was stranded at second when clean-up hitter Carlos Santana grounded out to end the inning. Cleveland seemed to be in business in the sixth when shortstop Brayan Rocchio led off with a double to right field. The Guardians not only didn't drive in the run, they failed to even advance the runner. Last year, they seemed to do all the little things that added up to a winning ball club. Now, they don't even do that. The Tigers lost All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres before they even took the field. While running the bases in the top of the first inning, he was forced at second by Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio. Second baseman Angel Martinez's throw was to the first-base side, which caused Rocchio to almost tackle Torres at second for the third out. Torres came out of the game with a bruised neck. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com.