The Tigers were defeated 7-4 by the Mariners tonight in the opener of a three-game series at Comerica. The loss dropped the slumping Tigers out of first place in the AL Central for at least a couple of hours. The first place White Sox have a half game lead over both the Tigers and Indians pending the outcome of their game at Oakland tonight.
The bad Scherzer showed up tonight throwing 103 pitches and allowing five runs on ten hits in just five innings against a generally sub-par Mariners line-up. There were some weak hits in the early going versus Scherzer, but it was a disappointing start nevertheless. It's looking as if Scherzer is always going to be a Jeckyl and Hyde pitcher.
The vaunted Tigers offense continues to under perform, but they did provide a couple of magnificent blasts tonight. Catcher Alex Avila hit a monster 432-foot home run off Seattle southpaw Jason Vargas to the shrubs in straight-away center field in the fourth. Third baseman Miguel Cabrera then hit a 400-foot laser into the left field stands in the fifth, also off Vargas.
The biggest problem with the Tigers offense continues be the second base position. Brandon Inge, Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago combined for two doubles in seven trips tonight to raise (yes, raise) their combined batting average from .096 to .111. Perhaps, they would have benefitted from ultimate exercise programs over the winter. Actually Inge, reportedly did participate in a strenuous program, but it is not doing him much good.
Game two of the series does not look like a favorable match-up for the Tigers as rookie Adam Wilks faces Seattle ace Felix Hernandez.
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