It doesn’t get much uglier than this, unless you’re at a convention of Die-hard Cubs Fans.
The White Sox pitching staff absorbed its worst pounding of the season Tuesday night in Tiger Stadium, giving up four home runs and 15 hits in a 16-11 loss.
Kevin Tapani (11-8), Scott Ruffcorn and Rich Sauveur took turns watching Detroit runners getting waved around third, as the Tigers snapped an eight-game losing streak and beat the Sox for the first time in 11 games, dating to last season.
Melvin Nieves had two homers and five RBIs for the Tigers.
Blame it on three days’ rest for Tapani. Blame it on the jitters for recent callups Sauveur and Ruffcorn. Blame it on the Macarena. Whatever, the Sox are still struggling against mediocre teams.
“Look at the numbers,” Tapani said. “Look where everything’s at. That tells you everything you need to know.”
The Sox ERA, which was 3.88 on June 1, is up to 4.53, the highest it has been all year.
“Tapani just wasn’t sharp,” manager Terry Bevington said. “And we just couldn’t hold them down. They have a very good offense.”
Detroit ranked 12th in the league in runs scored and last in team average entering the game.
The Sox got four homers themselves–from Tony Phillips, Robin Ventura, Danny Tartabull and Frank Thomas–but the latter two came after the Sox had trailed by eight after six. The Tigers disposed of Tapani after four innings, hitting three homers on their way to a 9-6 lead.
Tapani, who was working on three days’ rest because of last Friday’s double-header in Milwaukee, has allowed 24 earned runs–including nine homers–in 24 innings over his last four starts. He came in with a 5-0 record and 1.50 ERA in his previous five starts against the Tigers.
