What the Detroit Tigers were hoping would be a very big week in Ohio is off to a very slow start.

With the surprising Tigers’ biggest series of the season coming up this weekend Ugo Amadi Jersey , they’re not getting much time to turn things around.

The Tigers brought a five-game winning streak and plenty of confidence into a week that’s beginning with two games against the last-place Reds in Cincinnati and ending with three against the first-place Indians in Cleveland. They started out the week 2 1/2 games behind the Indians in the AL Central, and were talking openly of leaving Cleveland with the division lead on Sunday night.

But they’re now four games back following the Indians’ home-field wins over the Chicago White Sox on successive nights and the Tigers’ 9-5 loss to the Reds on Tuesday night. The Tigers let their game get away from them in a hurry after Joey Votto hit a grand slam in the third inning off Detroit starter Matthew Boyd (4-5).

The Tigers put up the kind of late-inning outburst that often wins games — a five-run ninth inning, against Reds reliever Wandy Peralta — but the trouble was they were down 9-0 when the inning began. Reds starter Sal Romano (4-7) shut them out on four hits over seven innings and now has allowed only one run over 15 innings in his last two starts.

“This wasn’t a good game for us,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “The other guy was throwing the ball well. … It wasn’t one of our better nights. You walk a few people (six), give up a few hits and (have) some long innings, and there you have it.”

Now, the Tigers don’t have much time to bounce back as they face an afternoon game Wednesday in Great American Ball Park, with right-hander Michael Fulmer (3-5, 4.13 ERA) going up against the Reds’ best pitcher of late in Tyler Mahle (5-6, 3.96). The Reds right-hander has permitted only two earned runs over 16 1/3 innings in his last three starts.

“Detroit Jonah Williams Jersey , you look at their record, they’re getting after it every night,” said Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman, whose team has won five of seven. “Ron Gardenhire’s got them playing hard and you’d better play the whole nine. They’re going to come after you.”

Neither pitcher in Wednesday’s game has faced the opposing team before.

Boyd hadn’t seen the Reds before, either, but Cincinnati made quick work of him, chasing him after getting five runs, six hits and three walks off him while he labored through four innings, throwing 80 pitches .

Some of the Reds’ low-average hitters did the most damage against Boyd and a Tigers bullpen that was almost flawless during the winning streak. Billy Hamilton, batting .203 http://www.thebengalsfootballauthentic.com/drew-sample-jersey-authentic , went 2-for-4 with a home run and Adam Duvall, batting .196, was 3-for-4. Tucker Barnhart also was 3-for-3 as the Reds collected 13 hits.

Detroit wasted a big night at the plate by leadoff hitter Leonys Martin, who went 3-for-3 with a double and walked twice while reaching base five times.

Mahle got off to a rough start this season, losing six of his first nine decisions, but he pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings against the Kansas City Royals in a 7-0 win last Wednesday and five shutout innings against the San Diego Padres on June 1. In between, he gave up two runs to the Rockies in five innings on June 7.

“It’s nice to put a couple (of no-run outings) close together like that,” Mahle told reporters after beating the Royals. “I was able to put some zeros up there and our team is always going to be able to score at some point.”

Fulmer is coming off a strong start, beating the Minnesota Twins 3-1 on Thursday while giving up only one run on five hits over seven innings. The win was Fulmer’s first at Comerica Park in nearly a year, or since July 15.

No. 11 is coming back for the Arizona Cardinals.

New Arizona coach Steve Wilks says wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald – arguably the most popular and certainly the most prolific player to don a Cardinals uniform – has told him he’ll return for a 15th NFL season.

Wilks made the comment Thursday in an interview on the ”Doug & Wolf” sports talk radio show. Wilks says Fitzgerald told him of his decision in a conversation Wednesday night.

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So for at least one more season Germaine Pratt Jersey , Fitzgerald will be scooping in the throws – from somebody – and laying down some blocks for David Johnson.

There was a quick response from teammate and golfing partner, cornerback Patrick Peterson.

”Wouldn’t be the same without him,” Peterson said on twitter, with a photo of Fitzgerald hugging him.

Added safety Tyrann Mathieu, also on twitter, ”11 for 15. Welcome back Legend.”

Fitzgerald hadn’t said publicly whether he would remain for another season and there was speculation he might follow the lead of coach Bruce Arians and quarterback Carson Palmer, who both retired after last season.

The 34-year-old Fitzgerald is one of the most prolific receivers in the game’s history, ranking third on the NFL career lists for receptions and yards receiving. He finished second in the NFL with 109 catches last season.

He returns even though there is no quarterback on the Arizona roster. General manager Steve Keim has said the team will move aggressively to fill that void, through free agency, trade or the draft – or any combination thereof.

Fitzgerald has caught passes from 17 quarterbacks since being drafted No. 3 overall by Arizona in 2004.

Although Jerry Rice’s NFL career records are out of reach http://www.thebengalsfootballauthentic.com/ryan-finley-jersey-authentic , Fitzgerald has a good shot at moving up to No. 2. He needs 92 catches to top for second in career receptions and 390 yards receiving to pass Terrell Owens for No. 2 in that category.

Fitzgerald has one year and $11 million remaining on his contract and most indications were he was leaning toward giving it at least one more season.

New offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said Fitzgerald was the first player he reached out to and that the receiver said he was excited about the prospects of the coming season.

Fitzgerald has missed only six games in his career and has caught a pass in 211 consecutive contests, tied with Tony Gonzalez for second all-time. He has topped 100 catches and 1,000 yards receiving each of the alst three years and, last season, was selected to the Pro Bowl for the 11th time. Among wide receivers, only Rice has been selected more often.

He shared Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year honors with Eli Manning a year ago.

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