Tigers Come Back To Rout White Sox

It didn't look good. Nate Robertson gave up 5 runs in 3 1/3 innings and Freddie Garcia held the Tigers scoreless on one hit for four innings. The Tigers were down 5-0 after four innings. We looked to the scoreboard for help but saw that the Twins were winning big over the Royals. The lead was going to be down to one game over the Twins.

Then the Tigers began to chip away. Miguel Cabrera hit a solo shot in the fifth to make it 5-1. Miguel then added a two run single in the sixth to close the gap to two at 5-3. Meanwhile, rookie Alfredo Figaro kept it close by holding the Twins scoreless for 2 2/3 innings. That's a performance which should not be lost in the wildness that followed.

Then came the sixth inning featuring the most beautiful sequence of at bats all year. With Carlos Guillen on first after a single and one out, the fun started:

• Gerald Laird hit a ground ball single to left.

• Adam Everett hit a ground ball single to left. Runs Scores. Tigers down 5-4.
  

• With RHP Freddie Garcia still inexplicably on the mound, slumping Curtis Granderson hit a sharp single to center. Run scores. Game tied 5-5.
  

• Placido Polanco drilled a single to right. Run scores. Tigers up 6-5.
  

• Magglio Ordonez dropped a single into right. Run scores. Tigers lead 7-5.

At the time, it looked like the Tigers most glorious comeback of the year and it's one of those pennant race events we'll probably look back on if they win the title. That, of course, was before they turned a dramatic comeback victory into a rout. They added four more runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth for a 12-5 victory. These were the highlights:

• The Tigers got 20 hits, their highest total of the year. An amazing 19 of them came after the fourth inning.
  

• Cabrera had 4 hits and 4 RBI giving him 100 for the sixth straight season.
  

• Granderson had three hits in the last three innings and all of them were well hit. It was a refreshing sight to see from the struggling leadoff man.
  

• Polanco and Laird added three hits apiece and Ordonez had two.

The Twins beat the Royals 11-6 to remain two games in back of the Tigers but the Twins have to face Zach Greinke tomorrow. Meanwhile the Tigers will put Edwin Jackson up against rookie Daniel Hudson. So, the matchups are in the Tigers favor.