Tigers' skid hits season-high seven games with 11-6 loss against Arizona

Detroit — Akil Baddoo couldn’t contain his frustration. He slammed his helmet at the feet of first base coach Alfredo Amezaga in the fourth inning after he grounded out to shortstop. He knew immediately he’d hurt something.

On the day the Tigers activated left-handed hitting Kerry Carpenter off the injured list, Baddoo, a left-handed hitter, left the game with what manager AJ Hinch said was a right quad issue. Baddoo was sent for tests after the game.

They just can’t get out of harm’s way.

"We just have to deal with it," Hinch said. "There's nothing we can do to change it ... Spending time wasting energy on the 'woe is me' part of this ain't going to work."

The game itself did nothing to assuage the collective frustration.

The N.L. West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks blew open a tie game with a seven-run outburst in the top of the seventh inning to hand the Tigers their seventh straight loss, 11-6 Friday night at Comerica Park.

Corbin Carroll, who had homered in the first inning, capped the rally with his first career grand slam home run off reliever Will Vest.

"You'd hope to get a better pitching performance out of me when (the offense) turns it on like that," said starter Michael Lorenzen, who had retired 12 straight hitters before the seventh. "Frustrated with myself for not being able to finish it off."

BOX SCORE: Diamondbacks 11, Tigers 6

The Tigers had just tied the game in the bottom of the sixth and Lorenzen had been cruising. He dispatched 12 straight hitters in just 47 hitters. But he gave up back-to-back doubles to Christian Walker and Josh Rojas and an RBI single to Jake McCarthy and things went off the rails.

"They just put together some really good at-bats," Hinch said. "The inning got away from us. There were a lot of issues with it. Just couldn't get it to end."

Vest entered with two on and two out and was victimized by a disputed catcher’s interference call and then a walk to load the bases ahead of Carroll.

"He's a star in the making," Hinch said of Carroll.

If there was any pocket of light in this one for the Tigers, it was slight signs of the offense perking up. The six earned runs was two more than their earned run total on the six-game road trip and the 11 hits was one more than they mustered in the three games in Philadelphia.

"I am encouraged by the at-bats tonight," Hinch said. "It's hard to take positives out of losses, especially when they are piling up, but I though our at-bats were much better tonight."

Carpenter made an immediate impact. He singled and scored the first run in the second inning and his single in the sixth set up the tying run.

Zack Short who drove in both runs. He delivered Carpenter with a double in the first and then drove a fly ball to the wall in center, the sacrifice fly scoring Nick Maton who had walked and advanced to third on Carpenter’s single.

Catcher Jake Rogers, who singled in the fifth, hit a pair of solo homers − extending his team lead to eight. He hit one to left in the seventh and one to right-center in the ninth. Javier Baez also homered, in the ninth.

Rogers had an interesting night. He was beefing with home plate umpire James Hoye after being called for catcher’s interference twice.

"It's huge," he said of the impact of both calls (they led indirectly to runs). "It's ridiculous. I hate it. I hate that it happened."

The first one prolonged the seven-run seventh inning, though watching the replays it was hard to see where the interference occurred.

More:Tigers' offense gets much-needed boost with return of Kerry Carpenter

"Toward the end of the game (Hoye) was pretty upset at me," Rogers said. "I thought the Diamondbacks hitters were out of the box. That's why they kept hitting me. I only had one other catcher's interference and it was earlier this year. I've never had it happen twice in a game."

The second one happened in the eighth inning and it negated a double-play ground ball.

"I brought it up the last time," Rogers said. "He didn't like it because I kept bringing it up. We got into a little match there in the box."

Rogers hit his homers in the seventh and eighth, after each disputed catcher's interference. He was told he should bat angry more often.

"Yeah, maybe that's the edge," he said, smiling. "I felt good at the plate today. I got a little mad my first at-bat. (Arizona starter Merrill Kelly) threw three heaters by me. After that I just didn't want him to beat me again and I got some good pitches to hit."

Or, it could be that, for the first time since 2020, Rogers shaved off his mustache.

"I told all the boys last night," he said. "We were flying back and I said, 'We're on a skid and I'm not hitting very well, so I might as well try something else.' I told Shorty I was going to surprise the boys. It looks weird. I don't think I've seen my upper lip in the last three years.

"I look a lot younger. I'm kind of a stranger to myself."

The Tigers are expected to have more details of Baddoo's injury on Saturday.

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @cmccosky