DETROIT _ The Detroit Tigers ended the first half on Sunday afternoon with a loss.
In the series finale against the Boston Red Sox _ the only game of the series not delayed by rain _ the Tigers' bullpen day and anemic offense was not enough to beat a much better opponent.
Former Tiger David Price threw five innings of one-run baseball, allowing four hits, and the Tigers didn't score in the final eight innings, losing, 6-3.
They ended the first half at 28-57.
In the final game before the All-Star break, left-hander Gregory Soto opened the game, pitching two innings just two days after he threw 20 pitches in relief. Soto allowed a two-run home run to Christian Vazquez in the top of the second inning, and the Tigers would not be able to catch up.
They started off strong against Price, with a leadoff walk by Victor Reyes, followed by an RBI double by Nicholas Castellanos. But the Tigers couldn't advance Castellanos any further.
In the eighth, Brandon Dixon capped an impressive first half with his 12th home run of the season, a two-run shot off the bullpen roof in left field.
Overall, the Tigers' relievers _ Soto, lefty Nick Ramirez and righty Jose Cisnero _ pitched OK against an impressive Boston lineup.
The Red Sox put the game out of reach in the fifth, when Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run double and Andrew Benintendi hit an RBI single.
The Tigers open the second half on Friday night in Kansas City.
After getting called out on strikes on an elevated breaking ball to end the Tigers' first inning, Miguel Cabrera was ejected for arguing. He was not thrown out until the Tigers had already taken the field for the second, and came out of the dugout to argue some more. Cabrera was at odds with balls-and-strikes calls throughout the series _ manager Ron Gardenhire prevented him from getting thrown out in a similar fashion on Saturday night _ but he cannot put his team at such a disadvantage so early. Cabrera is the Tigers' only .300 hitter (who is qualified for the batting title) and was replaced by Gordon Beckham.
Castellanos opened the scoring with a RBI double into the left field corner and added another sharp single later on. The double was a milestone _ the 200th of his career _ for Castellanos, who is likely playing his final games with the Tigers. After a slow start to the season, perhaps Castellanos is finally coming around: After hitting .297 in June, Castellanos finished his first half with a .344 average this month. If he can continue that early in the second half, it should help the Tigers' efforts to trade him.
It was a long first half for the Tigers, who finished it fittingly, with a bullpen day. At this point of the rebuilding process, it was never going to be pretty, but a rash of injuries have factored into the team's three-month tailspin. It likely will get worse, when they trade players before the July 31 deadline. A team simply can't survive with four starting pitching injuries and the middle of their infield missing extended time, especially a team in the Tigers' situation.
