Sears Debuts, But Tigers Fall 11-7 as Wild Card Slips Away

It was supposed to be a night to remember for young Andrew Sears, and in flashes it was — the Tigers' No. 14 prospect opened his Major League career with a clean 1-2-3 frame and even struck out Bobby Witt Jr. after a leadoff walk in the fifth. But the 23-year-old left a pair of sliders and a changeup in the heart of the plate to Pasquantino, Perez, and Rave, and four innings of five-run ball told the story of an 11-7 defeat at Kauffman Stadium. The real gut-punch is the standings. Last Friday we held sole possession of the third Wild Card. Now Texas, Cleveland, Toronto, Minnesota, Baltimore and Seattle have all passed us, and the Tigers sit 3 1/2 games out with 32 to go. Eight losses in our last nine, 13 players on the injured list including Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter — this is a team getting off the canvas after a standing 8 count. The bright spot: 22-year-old Kevin McGonigle, who crushed two homers and drove in eight on the road trip, including a game-tying two-run shot Sunday. That kid can play. We face the first-place Rays and the Dodgers starting Monday.