Detroit Tigers 2012 regular season – MLB Review – Part 10
After taking a humiliating series loss against the Texas Rangers, the Detroit Tigers were looking to find winning ways in a three game home series against the Seattle Mariners but that did not turn out to be the case.
Game 1 was played at Comerica Park on April 24 and Seattle dominated the Tigers in almost all departments of the game. Mariners’ pitching rotation, in particular, played a big part in deciding the outcome of the clash as they restricted the Tigers to just
four runs in hitter friendly conditions at Comerica Park.
Starting pitcher Jason Vargas pitched with great control and accuracy as he allowed just six hits and four runs against Tigers’ powerful batting line-up. Relief pitchers Steve Delabar, Tom Wilhelmsen and Brandon League combined to toss up two shut-out innings
to help their team start the series on an extremely positive note.
"Like two hours," Wilhelmsen joked.
"One of the reasons he's in the back side of our bullpen is because there's a lot of toughness there," Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. "He's a tough cookie out there. He competes. He's a fighter."
Tigers’ starter Max Scherzer had a poor outing as he allowed ten hits and five runs in just five innings to take his second loss of the season. Relief pitchers Collin Balester and Phil Coke also struggled to control the flow of runs as Seattle took complete
control of the situation.
After Mariners claimed a 4-0 lead in the third inning, outfielder Brennan Boesch singled to centre in the third inning to put Tigers on the board. Alex Avila homered to centre in the fourth and third baseman Miguel Cabrera smacked a solo home-run to left
in the fifth to reduce the deficit to 4-5 but the night belonged to the Mariners, who added runs on regular basis to secure a deserving victory.
"His stuff was unbelievable, he just couldn't control it," Avila said. "That's what we need to do -- get him to a point where he's got this stuff and gets into a groove. We've seen what he can do when he pitches like that."
Manager Jim Leyland wanted his team to fight back strongly in Game 2 to stay alive but another poor showing sent the Tigers into a 0-2 hole. Mariners’ pitching rotation, once again, dominated the Tigers’ batting line-up.
Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez gave up just four hits and one run in seven solid innings. His counterpart from Detroit, Adam Wilk had a horrible time on the mound as he allowed eight hits and six runs in two way-ward innings. Relief pitcher Thad Weber
was also hit hard as he gave up seven hits and three runs in three innings of relief.
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