MLB-best Tigers limping into All-Star Game break with season-high, 4-game losing streak after sweep

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers were showered with a smattering of boos as they walked off the field for the last time before the All-Star Game.

Seattle defeated Detroit 8-4 on Sunday, sealing a three-game sweep that gave the Major League-leading Tigers a season-high, four-game losing streak.

“We’ve stumbled a little going into the break,” Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty acknowledged. “But I think if you told everyone in here and in Detroit what record we’d have in the first half, where we would be in the division, where we would be overall and that we would have six All-Stars, I think a lot of people would be happy with that.”

The Tigers are 59-38, giving them the best record going into the All-Star Game for the seventh time in team history and first since 2006.

Detroit has an 11 1/2-game lead over second-place Minnesota in the Central, giving it the largest lead in the division or league at the break in franchise history.

The Tigers will be represented by a team-record six All-Stars: pitchers Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, outfielders Riley Greene and Javier Baez, second baseman Gleyber Torres and infielder Zach McKinstry.

Detroit even had its bat boy, Frankie Boyd, voted into the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday night in Atlanta.

“I want our guys to be proud and also hungry,” manager A.J. Hinch said.

The Tigers will definitely want to get a bad taste out of their mouths after giving up 35 runs over three games to the Mariners, who scored 15 runs in the ninth innings of the three games.

“We didn’t finish the game, which isn’t our norm,” Hinch said. “We’ve been very good at playing the entire game.”

The Tigers will have 65 games left in the regular season to hold on for their first division title in 11 years and to secure home-field advantage in the playoffs, hoping to win a World Series for the first time since 1984.

Ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, general manager Scott Harris may make moves to bolster the bullpen and perhaps the lineup.

Detroit will have four days off before resuming play at Texas on Friday night and Hinch is thankful for the timing.

“There’s been a lot going on around our team, and after this weekend, we could all use a break,” Hinch said. “Six guys are going to get a little bit of energy from the big stage of the All-Star Game and the rest of us will get some rest.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty pitches against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Tigers' Spencer Torkelson, right, scores past Seattle Mariners catcher Mitch Garver on a double by Dillon Dingler during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Tigers' Tyler Holton rubs a ball after giving up a home run to Seattle Mariners' Mitch Garver during the seventh inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Tigers' Spencer Torkelson avoids an inside pitch against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Enzo Maresca left his post as Chelsea head coach on Thursday after a reported deterioration in his relationship with the Premier League club’s hierarchy.

The Italian coach was midway through his second season in charge. In his first season, he won the Conference League and Club World Cup.

Last month, Maresca said he had experienced his “worst” 48 hours at Chelsea and expressed his unhappiness at a lack of support at the club, but didn’t go into specific reasons.

Chelsea is in fifth place in the Premier League, but has won just one of its last seven league matches, and has advanced to the English League Cup semifinals, where it will play Arsenal over two legs.

“With key objectives still to play for across four competitions including qualification for Champions League football," Chelsea said in a statement, "Enzo and the club believe a change gives the team the best chance of getting the season back on track.”

Chelsea is coming off a 2-2 home draw against Bournemouth in the league on Tuesday, and next plays second-place Manchester City away on Sunday.

The club said Chelsea's achievements under Maresca “will remain an important part of the club’s recent history, and we thank him for his contributions to the club.”

There was no immediate word on his potential successor, with Chelsea seeking a fifth full-time manager since the takeover of the club by American investors, fronted by Todd Boehly, in May 2022.

In the past 3 1/2 years, Chelsea has spent hundreds of million of pounds (dollars) in what looked from the outside a chaotic bid to sign players to refresh its squad. It now has one of the youngest and most talented squads in the Premier League, with star players including Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Estevao, but managers have struggled to get the players to gel as a team after so many changes.

Out of all the managers to have led Chelsea in that period — and they include Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino, the current coaches of England and the United States, respectively — Maresca appeared to have handled the chaos the best.

Yet he reportedly didn't feel appreciated given the tough working conditions and, according to the BBC, recently switched agents. A few weeks ago, media reports in England linked Maresca with a possible move to Man City — where he briefly worked under Pep Guardiola — should Guardiola eventually leave, though Maresca played the reports down.

Chelsea's results have taken a downturn in recent weeks, since a 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League in November.

The team's only league win in the past month was a 2-0 over Everton. There have been draws with Arsenal, Newcastle and Bournemouth (twice) and losses to Leeds and Aston Villa.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca reacts during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Chelsea, in Bergamo, Italy, on Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

FILE - Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca sits on a bench ahead of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Qarabag and Chelsea in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo, File)

Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca, left, gives instructions to Estevao during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Bournemouth in London, England, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)