Detroit Tigers lose to Seattle Mariners, 7-2, Porcello and offense struggle

Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Tigers began their three game series at home against the Seattle Mariners with a *-* loss. Rick Porcello struggled to keep the ball down and had his most disappointing start recently. The game also marked the return of recently traded center fielder Austin Jackson, who received a standing ovation from fans at Comerica Park in his first at bat. On that play, a grounder to Kinsler, Kinsler’s throw was off, pulling Miguel Cabrera off the plate and forcing Miggy to tag Jackson. After the applying the tag and getting the out, Cabrera showed pain in his thumb, indicating it had been bent back. Trainer Kevin Rand and Brad Ausmus took the field to check on Cabrera, but he remained in the game. Porcello did give up a hit in the first inning, but stranded the runner.

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The same can’t be said for the second inning, in which Porcello loaded the bases with no one out after giving up two runs. He gave up an additional run when a Austin Jackson ground into a double play, but stopped the bleeding there in the second. Porcello struggled again in the third, giving up a lead off home run to Robinson Cano to extend the Mariners’ lead to 4-0. After the Tigers’ scored in the bottom of the third Porcello gave the run right back on a double, ground out and a single. Jackson was caught stealing to end the fourth. Robinson Cano singled with one out in the fifth and moved to second on a force out error by Eugenio Suarez. Cano scored on a Kyle Seager single. Porcello got Mike Zunino to ground into a double play to third to end the inning. Porcello finally got his first one-two-three inning in the sixth.

Porcello’s line: 6IP, 10H, 6R, 5ER, 0BB, 3 K

Melvin Mercedes sat down six straight Mariners in his MLB debut, pitching the seventh and eighth innings without allowing a base runner.

Ian Krol came in to pitch the ninth and struggled with runners on the corners and only one out. The runner on first base was picked off, but that allowed the runner on third to score during Austin Jackson’s at bat, which ended the inning with a strike out.

The Detroit Tigers offense has been spotty lately, and that’s putting it mildly. Tonight was no different, as they got off to a slow start. Their first run was scored in the third, after Rajai Davis led off with a triple and scored on an Ian Kinsler ground out. The Detroit Tigers notched another run in the 8th, with a two out walk to Miguel Cabrera(who advanced to second on a wild pitch) and scored on a Victor Martinez single. The Tigers were unable to make anything happen in the ninth inning.

The Tigers play the Mariners tomorrow at 7:08pm.