Tigers Storm Back, Walk-Off with Win

Seattle 6, Detroit 7 (box)

Jarrod Washburn wasn’t very good yesterday against his former club.  He allowed six runs on four home runs in six innings of work.  He put his team in a 6-2 hole on get away day, a rainy, miserable afternoon before a long flight to Oakland.  It would have been easy to fold.

It would have been easier, perhaps, after the 58 minute rain delay in the sixth inning.  But the Tigers waited out the storm, then stormed back to snatch victory from the soggy jaws of defeat.

Everything that happened before the rain delay was bad, so I won’t mention much of it.  The Mariners scored six times on four homers, while the Tigers had solo homers from Ryan Raburn and Brandon Inge.  We’ll pick up the action after the grounds crew removed the tarp.

With the bases loaded and one out, Seattle summoned Chris Jakobauskas to relieve starter Ryan Rowland-Smith.  Pinch-hitter Aubrey Huff didn’t strike out, and he didn’t ground into a double play.  He did make an out, but it was productive as all three runners moved up, including one of them crossing the plate, leaving the Tigers in a 6-3 hole.  Alex Avila followed with a pinch-hit single that scored two and the lead was 6-5 for the M’s.

The Tigers’ relievers, Zach Miner and Bobby Seay (4-2), made sure it stayed there over the following three innings, and Seattle brought David Aardsma (3-5) into the game to seal the win.  But that didn’t happen.

Carlos Guillen, hitting for Marcus Thames, drew a lead-off walk.  Miguel Cabrera doubled him to third one out later.  Following an intentional walk to Magglio Ordonez, Brandon Inge got just enough of a fly ball to center to score Guillen and tie the game.  Clete Thomas then lined a sharp single to right to score Cabrera and send everyone home happy.

Cheers to

• Zach Miner– I have ragged on him a lot lately, and he has deserved it.  But he threw two scoreless innings in his first appearance since the birth of his son, and kept the game close.
• Ryan Raburn– One of the candidates to lose his job when the Tigers add another arm, Raburn did his best to stay on the roster.  Three hits including a home run.
• The Pinch-hitters– Huff, Avila, and Guillen combined to go 1 for 2 with a walk, a run scored, and three RBI.  That’s a great day for your bench.
• Clete Thomas– The Cult grew by thousands when Thomas ripped that game-winning single, much as it did after his walk-off homer on August 3.  He’s becoming a regular Andre Ethier out there.
• Mike Sweeney– Injuries have robbed Sweeney of a brilliant career.  for most of a decade he was one of the top hitters in baseball, but can’t ever stay on the field.  Sweeney plays only sparingly these days, but he homered and drove in two in the loss.

Jeers to

• Jarrod Washburn– Four starts for Detroit, three bad ones and one great one.  He has to improve for the Tigers to get where they want to go.
• Ryan Rowland-Smith– Handed a 6-2 lead, he began to fall apart, walking four of the final nine hitters he faced.  Three of his five runs allowed came after he left the game, but his final line is ugly.

What’s on tap

The Tigers hopped a plane to Oakland after the game for a weekend set with the A’s.  They hope to ride the momentum from their 4-2 home stand when Edwin Jackson (9-5, 2.85 ERA)gets the ball tonight against lefty Gio Gonzalez (4-3, 5.88 ERA).  Expect Curtis Granderson to sit again, as the Tigers face their second straight left handed starter.  The Tigers have lost their last 10 road series and of the teams with a winning record overall, the Tigers are the worst away from home.  The White Sox had no game yesterday, so the division lead is 2.5 games for Detroit.