Rays 8, Tigers 1: Brieske battles, hitters helpless

The middle game of a three-game series in Tampa saw the Tigers put their four-game winning streak on the line against a good young pitcher.

...wait, hold on. That still looks weird to me. “The Tigers’ four-game winning streak.” How about that.

Anyway, the streak had to end sometime, and the Rays beat the Tigers 8-1 at Tropicana Field.

The Talented Mr. Brieske — Beau, to you and me — took the hill for the Tigers, in his fifth Major League start. Coming into tonight, he’d pitched 21 innings, giving up 15 hits... but alas, five of those fifteen, fully one-third of the hits he’s surrendered, were home runs. That’s pretty unusual. What also jumped out to me from the stats page is that, despite…