Detroit Tigers unable to come up with big hit — again — in 5-1 loss to White Sox

The Detroit Tigers lost for the fourth time in the past five games, and for the 37th time in 61 games this season.

Facing the Chicago White Sox, the Tigers' offense — worst in baseball, averaging 2.75 runs per game — once again failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities in Tuesday's 5-1 loss in the second of three games at Comerica Park.

Although the Tigers (24-37) notched nine hits, the team finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and struck out 14 times. The White Sox, an American League Central rival, went 5-for-12 in those situations and struck out four times.

"The at-bats have been a little bit better," manager A.J. Hinch said. "We're talking about stranding runners now. But it's frustrating. Listen, we're well into June, so this is an accumulation of frustration that is real, but it doesn't help us win tomorrow.

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"I know you're tired of me saying win today's game, but the reason is because this sport will drag you into misery if you keep looking at these numbers. They're not good, and they're not going to be good tomorrow regardless of how good of a day we have. We got to focus on the game at hand and put a lot of good games together to climb out of this."

The Tigers scored their lone run in the first inning, though they failed to score more than once when they could've pounced on White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease.

"We had pressure on him in the first, second and fifth, so three of his five innings," Hinch said. "It's the most pressure we probably had on him since I've been here, but we didn't get the big hit."

In the first, the Tigers loaded the bases for Javier Báez with one out after singles from Victor Reyes and Harold Castro and a walk from Austin Meadows.

Báez worked a full count but struck out swinging on a 97 mph fastball down the middle of the strike zone. He stranded runners on the corners in the sixth inning when he lined out to left field.

With two outs in the first, Cease committed a bases-loaded throwing error on a pickoff attempt at second base. As the ball rolled into the outfield, Reyes scored easily to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

After Reyes scored, Robbie Grossman flied out for the third out.

"We were able to get one run," catcher Tucker Barnhart said. "Clearly, we'd like to get more. I think that goes without saying in any situation. But getting an early lead is good. We just couldn't hold it."

That one-run lead didn't last long.

Entering Tuesday's game, Cease had a career 2.08 ERA in 10 starts against the Tigers. This time, he allowed one unearned run on seven hits and one walk with eight strikeouts in five innings, throwing 108 pitches.

"He can escape because of his stuff," Hinch said. "He hangs in there, and when you don't get him when you have the opportunity, you can look back and say, 'What if?' He won the big moments."

Báez finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He is batting .188 with three home runs in 50 games this season. Reyes (.351 in 14 games) and Castro (.308 in 41 games) each finished with three hits. Barnhart, Meadows and Jonathan Schoop recorded the team's other three hits.

"I feel like I answer this question every single day," Barnhart said. "It's tough. Other than that, I don't really know what to say. I think you come to the park every day and approach each game like it's a new day, which clearly it is. We just got to forget about this and move forward. I apologize. It's a shitty answer. But, I mean, I don't know what to say."

Spot duty for Drew Hutchinson

Right-hander Drew Hutchison, added to the 40-man and 26-man rosters Monday, completed four innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with one strikeout.

He nearly imploded in the first inning.

The White Sox loaded the bases with two outs on a single and a pair of walks, but Hutchison escaped the jam by striking out Leury Garcia with an elevated 93.7 mph fastball.

"That was a big step in the right direction," Hinch said.

In the second inning, the White Sox tagged Hutchison for two runs and a 2-1 advantage. He allowed four straight two-out singles to Danny Mendick, AJ Pollock, Andrew Vaughn and Luis Robert.

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The singles from Vaughn and Robert scored runs.

"I was just missing a little bit in that first inning," Hutchison said. "I felt really good in the first. In the second inning, I executed a few pitches that just didn't work out to a few guys. ... I continued to do that the next two innings and had better results."

Pitching coach Chris Fetter visited Hutchison for a mound visit with slugger Jose Abreu stepping to the plate. The White Sox had runners on first and second base, and Hutchison couldn't afford a mistake. Abreu lined out to center field on a second-pitch slider to end the top of the second inning.

Hutchison threw 25 pitches in the first inning and 21 pitches in the second before settling in. He retired the final seven batters he faced and needed seven pitches in the third and nine pitches in the fourth.

"I think pushing him through five (innings) in the middle of the order would've been a challenge," Hinch said, "but he was good. He hung in there enough in typical Hutch fashion that we've seen before. ... He gave us what we could."

For his 62 pitches (45 strikes), Hutchison tossed 22 sliders (35%), 21 four-seam fastballs (34%), 10 sinkers (16%) and nine changeups (15%). He generated seven swings and misses, including three with his slider, and 10 called strikes.

Tyler Alexander and the 'pen

Had it not been for Hutchison's turnaround, the Tigers would've been in pitching trouble early on. Instead, Hutchison took the staff through the fourth inning before right-hander Wily Peralta took over for the fifth.

The White Sox scored two runs against Peralta, as Yoan Moncada hit an RBI double and Garcia produced a sacrifice fly. Those swings doubled Chicago's run total for a 4-1 margin.

For the first time since April 29, left-hander Tyler Alexander stepped on the mound for the Tigers. He was activated from the injured list Monday and completed two innings.

"Nice to have him back," Hinch said. "He's someone that we hope to use and utilize. When he's right, he can pitch a lot and be a troubleshooter for us. ... Second inning was better than the first inning."

Like Hutchison's second inning, the White Sox created trouble for Alexander with two outs in the sixth. They racked up three straight two-out hits, with Robert's RBI single making it 5-1.

Alexander retired all three batters in the seventh inning.

Right-hander Will Vest pitched the eighth, and lefty closer Gregory Soto handled the ninth in a four-run deficit.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers can't get big hits in 5-1 loss to White Sox