AP PhotoDetroit's Austin Jackson reacts after striking out Wednesday.DETROIT -- When Don Kelly is on the mound firing 86-mph fastballs at the New York Mets in the ninth inning, it’s safe to say things haven’t gone the Detroit Tigers’ way. On that note, the Tigers limped to the halfway point of the season Wednesday with a second consecutive ugly loss to the Mets, a 16-9 loss to the Mets.
The bottom line is promising: After 81 games, the Tigers are 43-38 and tied with the Cleveland Indians atop the AL Central.
But it’s becoming apparent what type of team the Tigers are: A pretty good one with some serious holes.
There are underlying concerns, particularly with the depth of the pitching staff. The latest case is Phil Coke, who allowed seven earned runs in four innings in the loss.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland intimated after the game changes could be in store for Coke (1-8, 4.91 ERA), a converted reliever in his first season as a starter.
"We’re tossing some things around," he said. "We’re not ready to make any decisions at this particular time, but we’re tossing some things around, and we’ll leave it at that."
Coke has won only once this season, and that came April 14 against Oakland. He now has dropped five consecutive decisions and allowed at least six runs in three of his past five starts. He’s made it through six innings only once since May 18.
"I’m sick to my stomach right now," Coke said.
The left-hander added he would be receptive to a move, should the club ask him to make one.
"If they ask me to go out there and start, I’ll go out there and give everything I have when they give me the ball," he said. "Boos, no boos, happy people, not happy people, it doesn’t matter. I’m doing the best I can.
"If they want to do something, that’s their prerogative. I’m at their beck-and-call."
Leyland said before the game a person in baseball had told him, when Coke’s name was mentioned, "?‘Starter’s stuff, reliever’s mentality,’ which is an interesting comment."
"Now, I’m not saying it pertains to (Coke), but it’s an interesting comment," he added.
When pressed to elaborate, Leyland said the phrase means "pumped up coming out of the bullpen instead of being calmer."
"I’ve seen pretty good adjustments at times (with Coke), and I’ve seen hyperness at times. I’ve seen both, so that’s why he stands where he stands right now."
It was the second consecutive day a Detroit starter allowed seven runs against New York, and neither Coke nor Rick Porcello needed five innings to do it.
It left the Tigers’ bullpen depleted and, with David Purcey running out of gas in the ninth, Leyland called upon Kelly, a utility player, to get the final out.
He did, retiring Mets designated hitter Scott Hairston on a routine fly ball to center. On a 2-2 curveball, no less.
"There was adrenaline going the whole time as soon as I stepped on the mound," said Kelly, who hasn’t pitched since college. "My mentality was, try to get the ball over the plate, and not overthrow."
He became the first Tigers position player to pitch since Shane Halter on Oct. 1, 2000 against the Minnesota Twins.
Despite the carnage inflicted by the Mets the past two days — 30 runs, 38 hits, a .432 average against Tigers pitching -- Leyland is pleased with where his club stands entering the season’s second half.
"There’s been some real bright spots, some real downers, (and) hopefully we have something to look forward to," he said. "I wish we were more consistent. But, I’m very satisfied. We’re right around first place, and that’s pretty good.
"Obviously, we can’t have more of what we’ve had the past couple days, though. That’s unacceptable."
In the Tigers’ past 34 games, Justin Verlander has a 0.72 ERA, while the rest of the staff has combined for an ERA of almost 7.00.
Coke certainly didn’t help those numbers. He allowed four first-inning runs, another run in the third and was tagged with three more in the fifth. The Tigers trailed 8-0 at that point.
"We just made some miserable pitches the past couple nights, and that’s just not acceptable," Leyland said.
But the Tigers were not done, as four home runs helped them close to within 8-6.
Raburn got it started with a third-inning solo shot. Miguel Cabrera followed with a solo homer in the fourth, then stroked a mammoth 445-foot blast into the second row of bushes in deep left-center field that scored three and pulled the Tigers within 8-5 in the sixth.
Two batters later, shortstop Jhonny Peralta added the Tigers’ fourth homer of the day, a solo shot to left, to make it 8-6 before the Mets scored two in the seventh to increase their lead to four.
Andy Dirks added a the Tigers’ fifth homer of the day, a two-run shot to right, in the seventh inning.
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