Underachieving Mets, battered Tigers kick off series

The Detroit Tigers got a much-needed victory on Sunday. They will look to build off of that when they visit New York to face the Mets in a three-game series that begins on Tuesday.

Detroit snapped a five-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over Kansas City. Gage Workman hit his first major league home run, a go-ahead two-run shot, after being recalled from Triple-A Toledo earlier in the day.

Workman was elevated after Kerry Carpenter hit the Tigers' crowded injured list with a shoulder sprain.

"A lot of good things happened (Sunday), with Gage's pinch-hit being at the top," manager A.J. Hinch said. "There were a lot of contributions across the roster and we needed it. It's been a tough week."

Fortunately for the Tigers, the other teams in the American League Central have also failed to catch fire. None of them entered the week above .500. Hinch has had to resort to "pitching chaos," otherwise known as bullpen days, with Carpenter now the third position player on the IL.

"We have guys here filling in for a large list of guys who are gone and that's not changing," Hinch said. "Those guys are injured and they are gone. Focusing on what is in front of you is way easier when you eliminate any negativity from the day. ... There's no evaluation that's going to make that record change or make the situation change."

Jack Flaherty, Detroit's starter for the series opener, is still searching for his first victory of the season. Flaherty (0-3, 5.56 ERA) struck out a season-high 10 batters in five innings against Boston on Wednesday but got no run support. His outing was also marred by a key error, as two of the four runs he allowed were unearned.

He's only faced the Mets once in his career, giving up four runs in 5 1/3 innings in 2019 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

He'll be opposed by another veteran right-hander, Freddy Peralta. In his last start, Peralta required 91 pitches to get through five innings against Colorado but still picked up his second win of the season. Peralta (2-3, 3.12 ERA) has not allowed more than three runs in any of his last seven starts.

Peralta is 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA in three career starts against Detroit.

The Mets have lost three of their last four games, solidifying their grip on last place in the National League East. They have scored 139 runs in 40 games, the second-fewest in the majors. They only scored one run in each of their last two games, losses to Arizona.

"We chased," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "The few at-bats that we got ahead, he kept going to that changeup and getting ground balls. We didn't make the adjustment there and we swung at his pitches when we needed to do damage."

Their offensive catalyst, outfielder Juan Soto, is batting .121 this month. He has gone hitless in his last three games.

"It's tough. I have just been missing a lot of balls," Soto said. "They have been throwing me pitches that I have just been a little under, and I have been working with the hitting coaches, swinging the bat, doing my routine, working on mechanics. You're at the point where you got to stop missing it."