The Tigers gained a split of the 4 game set with the Mariners by winning 11-7 today. I did not watch today's game and only heard parts of it on the radio but it sounded as if Justin Verlander did not have his best stuff. He allowed 4 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings but was the benefactor of some good run support. The Tigers pounded Jeff Weaver for 7 runs on 10 hits in 5 innings and had 12 hits in all.
The Tigers scored their runs on a combination of power and speed. They had 3 homers on the day from Marcus Thames (his 11th of the year), Omar Infante (1st) and Magglio Ordonez (14th). They also ran wild on backup catcher Jamie Burke stealing 5 bases including a steal of home by Gary Sheffield and Sean Casey's second steal of the year. Sheffield now has 16 steals on the year and seems poised to become a 20 20 man at age 38. Casey, who homered on Friday night, is now a 2 2 man.
The homer by Ordonez in the 8th was his first since June 1. He also has only 3 extra base hits since June 19th so his power has been almost nonexistent lately after a great start. Hopefully, today's homer will get him going again. Marcus Thames, on the other hand, is showing plenty of power since becoming a regular. After going 2 for 5 with 4 RBI today, he is now batting .325 with 5 homers, 3 doubles and 13 RBI in his last 12 games.
The Tigers didn't have their best series. They played sloppy defense, Rogers and Verlander were not especially sharp and the batters left quite a few men on base so coming out of it with a split is kind of a relief. They remain a half game up on the Indians who topped the Royals 5-3 today. Next they travel to Minnesota for a three game series on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and we all know the Metrodome is a tough place to play.
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