MLB news: Tigers stranded in Boston before falling in Cleveland, Freddie Freeman keeps mashing, Dallas Keuchel dominates

The Tigers had a little trouble getting out of Boston on Monday before losing on a Michael Brantley walk-off home run in Cleveland. Elsewhere, Freddie Freeman and Dallas Keuchel continued their impressive performances.

by Alex Skillin

May 20, 2014, 11:31 AM UTC

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

After a dominant sweep of the Red Sox at Fenway over the weekend, the Tigers decided to have a little fun and dress in full Zubaz for their plane trip to Cleveland early Monday morning.

One problem popped up, however, as a mechanical issue with Detroit’s plane forced the team to stay in Boston an extra night, Zubaz and all.

This isn't fun.. @Max_Scherzer pic.twitter.com/4cMAA7dR45
— Ian Krol (@IanKrolTKB) May 19, 2014

The Tigers didn't get into Cleveland until 4:30 p.m. ET for their scheduled 7:05 p.m. game on Monday, leaving starter Drew Smyly -- who had flown out prior to Sunday -- alone in a quiet clubhouse.

It's usually not this quiet 3 hours before game time... pic.twitter.com/FuoV1vbhwC
— Drew Smyly (@SmylyD) May 19, 2014

Coming into Monday's contest with the Indians, the Tigers had won 11 straight road games, a streak that was in jeopardy with the Tigers down one run in the ninth inning. But J.D. Martinez smacked his first home run of the year to level the score and send the game into extras.

The Indians had the last laugh, however, when Michael Brantley hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to end Detroit's six-game winning streak and give the Indians a 5-4 win. The blast was Brantley's ninth home run this season; his previous career high in a single season is 10.

Braves, Brewers combine for five home runs in Atlanta win

The Braves' offense came into Monday on a bit of a cold streak, but three home runs helped Atlanta to a 9-3 victory over the Brewers. Justin Upton hit his 11th homer this season, Ryan Doumit tallied his first dinger in 2014, and Freddie Freeman continued his strong start with a solo blast off Milwaukee starter Wily Peralta, who had his shortest outing of the year.

Freeman isn’t having any problems living up to the eight-year extension he signed this offseason. In 186 plate appearances, the 24-year-old is hitting .317/.392/.549 with what would be a career-high .220 ISO.

Freeman’s lack of prototypical power for a first baseman was one of the primary arguments leveled against the extension he signed this winter. If his power continues developing (and he can keep getting on base at nearly a 40 percent clip), then the Braves will look even smarter for locking Freeman up.

Keuchel keeps cruising for Astros

Monday night's matchup between the Astros and Angels saw two of this season's biggest starting pitching surprises, Dallas Keuchel and Garrett Richards, face off. Keuchel and the Astros got he better of the contest, winning 5-2, behind their starter's 8 2/3 innings on the mound. He struck out eight. Richards gave up five runs on 10 hits in seven innings for the Angels.

Richards had allowed more than three earned runs just once this season, but the Astros scored five runs in the first three frames to grab early control of the game. Even after the tough outing, Richards’ ERA still stands at a strong 2.90 on the season.

Keuchel, meanwhile, maintained his dominant form, holding the Astros to just two hits and striking out seven. Coming into 2014 with a 5.20 ERA in 239 career innings, Keuchel has completely flipped the switch, posting a 2.92 ERA and striking out more than four times as many batters as he’s walked through nine starts. Even more impressive has been Keuchel’s groundball percentage, which leads all MLB starters.