DETROIT — A.J. Hinch began Monday energized. Tarik Skubal was back in Detroit and, miraculously, threw a bullpen only 12 days after surgery. Young right-hander Troy Melton made a brief visit before heading out for another rehab start, another sign of hope on the horizon.The reinforcements are coming, and Hinch seemed focused on a new series against the Cleveland Guardians and positive about the outlook ahead.“The optimist in me — which, there’s still an optimist in there — is saying it’s going to be a short period of time,” Hinch said of second baseman Gleyber Torres and his impending rehab assignment.By the end of the night, Hinch was back on the dais, having to answer for another loss. The Detroit Tigers have dropped 11 of 13 games. The woes have extended far past the team’s long list of injuries. The Tigers have scored more than three runs only once in the past seven games. They entered Monday’s game ranking 27th in average, 27th in strikeout rate, 29th in OPS and 30th in slugging percentage in May.Spencer Torkelson, once a No. 1 pick, is hitting .191. Zach McKinstry, an All-Star last season, is batting .173. Matt Vierling, the outfielder who missed so much of last season, homered Monday but is still hitting only .211. Wenceel Pérez, the switch hitter who came through in so many big moments over the past two years, is hitting .163.Injured as the team is, it is difficult to grasp why the Tigers have Zack Short, who has only 20 hits in his past 131 major-league at-bats dating to the start of 2024, starting games at shortstop.So as Hinch atoned for another difficult night, he did not necessarily appear frazzled or dismayed. For much of a six-year Tigers tenure filled with wild ups and downs, Hinch has mostly carried a consistent, levelheaded demeanor. But a team that entered the year with World Series hopes now has a 20-28 record, and Hinch’s optimism could only prevail for so long.“If we’re getting frustrated now, then we’re late,” Hinch said, asked about the long list of underperforming players. “Where we’re at, we’re going to have to stay together, work together and really dig ourselves out of this one step at a time. But I worried about frustration a long time ago. This has been a grind for a lot of these guys, and you’re right: Their track record is not matching what we’re getting, and that’s always tough.”For so much of this season, the Tigers’ brand of play has been downright sloppy. Let’s limit the view to Monday. Left-handed hitter Steven Kwan entered the game hitting .201. Left-handed pitchers Framber Valdez and Brant Hurter combined to walk him three times. Riley Greene, the most productive hitter on this team, got back-picked off at first base. Later, Hurter should have picked off a Cleveland runner who danced far off the bag. Instead, Hurter was slow to react, then spiked a throw to first.