Tigers Rally in 7th to Beat Rays

The Tigers came into tonight's game versus the Devil Rays having lost 4 in a row and 13 out of 17. For 6 innings, it was more of the same for the slumping Tigers. Justin Verlander gave up 4 runs on 8 hits including a 3 run homer to BJ Upton in the 5th. It took him 108 pitches to get through 6 innings. Again the Tigers failed to hit a struggling starter as Edwin Jackson held them to 2 runs in 6 innings. Down 4-2 after 6 and showing no signs of life, it looked like another loss for the Tigers.

Gary Glover came in to pitch the 7th inning and retired Placido Polanco for the first out. Then the Tigers finally broke loose:

• Mighty Casey woke them up with a homer to right.
  

• Magglio Ordonez singled to right, his 3rd hit of the game.
  

• Carlos Guillen tripled to right, his 3rd hit of the game as well.
  

• Ryan Raburn singled to left.
  

• Mike Rabelo singled to right.
  

• Omar Infante singled to center.
  

It was 6 straight hits off of Glover and Grant Balfour good for 4 runs and a 6-4 lead for the Tigers.

It was up to the bullpen to close it out which is far from a guarantee for these 2007 Tigers. This time Fernando Rodney and Todd Jones pitched like it was 2006. Rodney pitched a 1-2-3 8th and Jones a 1-2-3 9th. It was a 6-4 victory for a team that badly needed a win.

With Cleveland leading Minnesota 4-0 in the 8th, it looks like the Tigers will remain a half game behind the division leading Indians. The Tigers will try to win 2 consecutive games for the first time since July 19th tomorrow night. It will be Nate Robertson versus Jason Hammel at 7:05.