Tigers on Wrong End of Wild MLB History After Getting Swept by Pirates

The Detroit Tigers have been stuck in a rut the last two weeks, playing their worst baseball of the season.

They went into the All-Star break on a four-game losing streak, dropping the finale against the Tampa Bay Rays before being swept by the Seattle Mariners in their final series of the first half.

Things haven’t gotten any better coming out of the All-Star break for the Tigers, who saw their losing streak reach six before salvaging the last game of their series against the Texas Rangers.

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A trip to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates followed, presenting a chance to get back on track against one of the worst teams in baseball.

That didn’t end up occurring, with Detroit getting swept by the Pirates at PNC Park in embarrassing fashion.

The Tigers were shutout in Game 1 by a score of 3-0, then lost Game 2, 8-5, before managing to only score once in the finale, losing 6-1.

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As a result of the sweep at the hands of Pittsburgh, Detroit was on the wrong end of some wild MLB history.

According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, the Pirates became the first team since 1980 to get swept by a team with the worst record in a league and then sweep a team with the best record in consecutive 3-plus game series at least 80 contests into a season.

The last time it occurred was when the San Diego Padres swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1980, who had best record in the National League, before being swept by the St. Louis Cardinals, who had the worst record in the NL.

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Prior to sweeping the Tigers, the Pirates were swept by the Chicago White Sox coming out of the All-Star break.

Losers in nine out of their last 10 games, Detroit has to figure out a way to get out of this funk.

Things aren’t going to get any easier with a series starting against the Toronto Blue Jays, who are right on their tail for the best record in the AL.

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Both the Blue Jays and Houston Astros had records of 59-42 entering play on July 23, with Detroit now sitting at 60-43 after getting swept.

For more Tigers news, head over to Tigers On SI.