Bauer Blasted as Tigers Pound Indians 7-1; Three Takeaways From the Loss

Last season the Indians did just about whatever they wanted against the Tigers, dominating them all season along even winning the American League Central in

Last season the Indians did just about whatever they wanted against the Tigers, dominating them all season along even winning the American League Central in Motown in late September.

This season to this point it's been a very different story, as Detroit has gotten a small measure of revenge thus far, winning three of the first four games between the two teams, including Monday's first game at Comerica Park, a 7-1 win that was about as bad as it sounds.

There's plenty to chat about when it comes to this Indians setback, their worst loss since an 11-2 drubbing by the Arizona Diamondbacks back on April 8th.

Let's take a look at how this beatdown played out, as we give you our three takeaways from game one of this four-game set from Detroit.

1. No Power From Bauer

Indians starter Trevor Bauer was coming off two decent starts, the last of which was last Wednesday at home against the Houston Astros in an eventual 7-6 Tribe win.

In that game he allowed a pair of two run homers that allowed the Astros to stay in the game. Monday night in Detroit, he put the Indians behind the 8-ball quickly, to a point they were never in the game.

Detroit jumped on Bauer, they got two right away on doubles from Nick Castellanos and Victor Martinez, and then in the second inning they got three to basically seal the win.

In that second inning Bauer allowed a walk and a single with one out, and then Tyler Collins slammed a back breaking three-run homer to make it a 5-0 game.

While the Indians offense didn't do much to help out Bauer with just one run, his outing was a lot more like his first two of the year when he allowed 10 runs in 10.2 innings in losses to the Diamondbacks and Tigers.

He will be back on the mound on Saturday when the Indians are in Kansas City for a 4:15pm showdown with the Royals.

2. An Awful Night for the Offense

Daniel Norris stalled the Indians offense all night, allowing just one run in six innings with four walks and eight strikeouts.

While Sunday the Indians offense did just about whatever they wanted in their win over the Mariners, it was a whole lot different in their first trip to Comerica Park in 2017.

It's not like the Tribe didn't have traffic on the basepaths - they had two on in the first, scored their only run in the 3rd on a Edwin Encarnación single to left which scored Francisco Lindor.

In the 4th they had two on, got a double in the 6th, and had a baserunner each in the 7th and the 9th.

Norris improves to 3-0 lifetime against the Indians, and overall the Tribe struck out 12 times. They have a shot to get on track Tuesday against Justin Verlander, who it seems the Indians are always either feast or famine against.

3. A Slow Start Against the Tigers

While no one seems too concerned about the Indians eventually winning the AL Central, if the first four games against the Tigers are any indication, they are not going to go quietly.

In the four games thus far they have outscored the Tribe 24-21, but in one of those games, the only Indians win, they scored 13 of those 21 runs.

In the three losses, the Tribe has been outscored 18-8. Detroit is still a team that can inflict damage, and they did it Monday without their best hitter, as Miguel Cabrera is on the disabled list, but could be back as early as Tuesday.

There are plenty of games against the Tigers back and plenty of time for the Indians to eventually win the season series, but so far the series against the Tigers has been downright ugly.