At 41-61 just before the trade deadline, the Tigers have had a tough year all around. But on Saturday, they had the Blue Jays (-1.5) up against the wall on the road.
Between Toronto’s core of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (and all of his hilarious antics), George Springer, and Bo Bichette — the trio combined for just two hits against Tigers pitching all afternoon. The Jays as a team only had four hits. You would think, under those circumstances, that Detroit would prove capable of holding onto their 3-1 lead through almost six innings for the win.
Ah, but there’s the rub. When he came into the game, relief pitcher Derek Law went on to have one of the worst half innings in MLB history.
No hyperbole in that statement whatsoever:
Derek Law, making history for the Tigers in Toronto: The first pitcher to allow a homer, commit an error, hit a batter and throw a wild pitch in a single relief appearance.
— Ryan Ford (@theford) July 30, 2022
This inning is just not going well for Derek Law. pic.twitter.com/Oec7cZ49ag
— Just Baseball (@JustBBMedia) July 30, 2022
Oh my goodness. A homer, error, hit batter, and a wild pitch in half (!) an inning? You almost have to try to pitch that terribly for the wrong kind of MLB history. (Though, Law definitely wasn’t doing that).
And so, as Law entered to protect a 3-1 lead, he left the mound with the Blue Jays up 5-3 — the final score of the ball game. You know what? I can see certainly why the Tigers have lost over 60 games before July now.