Big seventh inning leads Detroit Tigers past Seattle Mariners 8-3 - MLB Update
The American League’s Detroit Tigers played a six-run seventh-inning to win the first of the three-game series against Seattle Mariners 8-3 at Safeco Field, Washington on Monday, April 18.
Brandon Inge, Johnny Peralta and Max Scherzer contributed to achieve the eighth victory for the Tigers in the 2011 Major League Baseball season.
The Tigers’ switch fielder Brennan Boesch led the game off acquiring a 1-0 lead with a RBI single in the first inning. It did not last for long as the Mariners’ Milton Bradley launched a 425-feet long two-run homer to centre-field off Tigers’ starter Scherzer.
It sent the Tigers one run behind with 2-1 on board that carried until the seventh inning.
Chasing a run deficit in the seventh inning, Boesch came into action again and drove in the tying double to left-field that allowed Miguel Cabrera to score. Once the Mariners’ starter Jason Vergas finished his six innings spell, the Tigers attacked with
full swings. Inge chipped for a single to left, stole second on a sacrifice fly and acquired third on Ryan Raburn’s single. Inge then scored on a wild pitch by Lueke that catcher Miguel Olivo could not gather and the road to a six-run innings started.
Cabrera added an RBI single before the Mariners relieved Lueke with Chris Ray in the middle of the inning. The move did not work, as Ray tossed three balls to consume his first run to Boesch. It was not the day for relievers as Ray again tossed three balls
before receiving a RBI triple by Johnny Peralta. The lead increased to 8-2 in the end of the seventh inning.
The seventh inning forced Seattle’s manager Eric Wedge to confess their faults as he said, "That seventh inning got ugly there. Lueke and Ray just did not have it today. They got behind and then came in and that is where it got away from us."
However, the starter Vargas was impressive for his six-shutout innings in which he allowed just two runs and two walks while getting four strike-outs.
The Mariners’ Justin Smoak hammered a grand slam in the eighth inning but could not gather enough to remove the lead.
Tigers’ starter Scherzer remained brilliant throughout the game. The right-hand hurler, making his fourth start allowed six hits, two runs, walked four and got seven strike-outs. Scherzer also received a two-run homer by Bradley in the third inning on a
2-1 pitch that he launched to right-centre.
The Tigers went on to win it, 8-3 over the Seattle Mariners.
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