UPDATE: The streak is over! The Tigers beat the Twins today, 12-2. They are now 1-11 against the Tribe. The journey to dig out of a seven and a half game hole begins with a single win.
10:21 AM: Over time, baseball evens out. In the long run - like, the really, really long run -- most teams lose around as often as they win. But single seasons aren’t long runs, and the run the Indians are on versus the Tigers is making the difference in the AL Central.
Cleveland clobbered Detroit last night, 12-1. But it was just the latest in a series of humiliations for the Tigers at the hands of the Indians. That loss made it 11 straight to Cleveland, in 11 games played this year. The Indians have outscored the Tigers 77-24 in the season series as well. They lead Detroit by 7.5 games so it would take something close to dominance in the other direction to swap these two clubs in the AL Central standings, but it sure would be a lot closer if the Tigers actually made a season series of it.
The two clubs play at noon today. For his part, Justin Verlander is not despairing, even if he is acknowledging the futility he and his mates have had against Terry Francona’s crew:
If at 1st u don't succeed try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try again! #GoTigers
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) July 6, 2016
Count the “try"s. We’ll see this afternoon if the twelfth time is the charm.