Live Tigers blog: Extra-base hits pave way to win
Three days ago, Miguel Cabrera cited frustration with the Tigers' at-bats.
He showed his fury again on Friday night — and his teammates followed suit by pounding 12 extra-base hits (seven doubles) in a 15-5 victory against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park.
In the process, Cabrera became the 39th player in Major League Baseball history to record 1,000 extra-base hits. He is the fourth active player to accomplish the milestone along with Albert Pujols (1,223), Adrian Beltre (1,074) and Carlos Beltran (1,052).
Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez (3-for-4) finished a single shy of the cycle and Cabrera drove in four runs as the Tigers opened a 10-1 lead after three innings in support of starter Michael Fulmer (6-3).
The Tigers now have won three of their past four games as they begin a stretch of 22 of 32 games in Detroit.
Fulmer, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, earned his first career victory against the White Sox. He finished with five strikeouts and a walk and gave up five earned runs — three coming in an uncharacteristic fifth inning.
The Tigers' seven doubles is a season-best output.
Bottom 8: Mahtook adds on to lead
Mikie Mahtook drove home JaCoby Jones with an RBI double to give the Tigers a 15-5 lead after eight innings.
The Tigers have 12 extra-base hits tonight. Their seven doubles are a season-high.
Mahtook homered in the third inning. He is one of six Tigers who have multiple hits tonight.
Top 8: Leon throws scoreless frame
Arcenio Leon threw a scoreless inning on the mound in relief of Tigers starter Michael Fulmer.
The Tigers lead 14-5 entering the bottom of the eighth.
Bottom 7: Martinez flies out to right field
Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez entered the batter's box in the bottom of the seventh inning, needing a single for the cycle.
He worked the count to 2-0 against White Sox reliever Dan Jennings, but Martinez flied out to right field.
The last Tigers player to hit for the cycle was Carlos Guillen on Aug. 1, 2006 at Tampa Bay.
The Tigers lead 14-5 after seven innings.
Arcenio Leon is on the mound in relief of Tigers starter Michael Fulmer.
It would be interesting if history was made on this date. Consider June 2, 2010: Tigers starter Armando Galarraga retired 26 straight Cleveland Indians batters and thought he had a perfect game, but umpire Jim Joyce ruled Jason Donald safe at first base.
Top 7: Fulmer reaches seven innings again
Tigers starter Michael Fulmer has tossed seven innings for the sixth consecutive game. He’s given up five earned runs, the most in a start this season.
The Tigers lead 14-5 after the top of the seventh.
In the top of the seventh, White Sox catcher Kevan Smith doubled and Yolmer Sanchez singled.
Leury Garcia (2-for-4, three RBIs) drove in a run on a groundout. He hit a sharp grounder to Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who touched the first-base bag and fired home to catcher John Hicks, but Smith beat the tag to score the run.
Bottom 6: Martinez needs single for the cycle
Dixon Machado (2-for-5, three RBIs) increased the Tigers lead with a two-out, two-RBI double and J.D. Martinez needs a single to get the franchise's first cycle in 11 seasons.
The Tigers lead to 14-4 in the bottom of the sixth. They have 11 extra-base hits tonight.
Justin Upton had an RBI double in the inning, giving the Tigers six doubles on the night, their season-best output.
Jose Iglesias (3-for-3) drew a walk to reach base for the fourth time of the night. He scored on Machado's double.
Martinez (3-for-4, two RBIs) tripled to lead off the bottom of the inning against White Sox reliever Juan Minaya.
And who is the last Tigers player to hit for the cycle? Carlos Guillen on Aug. 1, 2006 at Tampa Bay.
Top 6: Fulmer back to strong form
Tigers starter Michael Fulmer bounced back in the top of the sixth inning with a pair of strikeouts, giving him five tonight.
The Tigers lead 11-4 entering the bottom of the sixth.
Fulmer has issued just three walks in his past 30 1/3 innings, dating back to May 11 in Los Angeles against the Angels.
Bottom 5: Iglesias gets third hit of the night
Jose Iglesias (3-for-3) led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a single and scored on an RBI double by Nicholas Castellanos (who was caught in a run down between second and third during the play).
The Tigers lead 11-4 after five innings. They have 14 hits (the season-high is 24 hits on April 25 vs. Seattle).
The Tigers have eight extra base-hits tonight. It's a vastly different output than the last time the Tigers faced Chicago. In their previous series last weekend in the Windy City, the Tigers struck out 49 times, the most in a four-game series since 1913.
Top 5: Fulmer's quality start streak ends
Just like that, and Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer has yielded a season-high for earned runs.
Fulmer gave up three runs in the top of the fifth inning and the Tigers lead has been trimmed to 10-4. The four earned runs are the most Fulmer has given up in any of his 11 starts this year.
In the top of the fifth, White Sox third basemen Matt Davidson led off with a double and shortstop Tim Anderson followed with an RBI single.
Anderson advanced to third on a fly out and left-handed hitting Leury Garcia (2-for-3) solved Fulmer yet again, this time with an RBI single.
Melky Cabrera followed with a sacrifice fly.
Anderson had one hit in 13 career at-bats against Fulmer entering the fifth inning.
Jose Abreu flew out to the warning track to end the inning.
Fulmer entered the night seeking his 11th consecutive quality start to begin the season. The mark is tied with Justin Verlander for the longest streak by a Tigers pitcher to begin a season since 1913.
Bot 4: Scoreless frame
White Sox reliever Gregory Infante struck out three batters to give the Tigers their first scoreless frame of the night.
The Tigers lead 10-1 after four innings. It's the second time in the past four games the Tigers have produced 10 runs, dating back to Monday in Kansas City.
Eight Tigers have a hit and all nine have reached base (Nicholas Castellanos has three walks in three trips to the batter’s box).
Miguel Cabrera (2-for-2, two doubles, four RBIs) recorded his 1,000th career extra-base hit in the second inning.
Top 4: Fulmer cruises
Tigers starter Michael Fulmer has given up two hits through four innings. He has three strikeouts and no walks. He’s thrown 52 pitches and seeks his 11th consecutive quality start to begin a season, which would break a tie with Justin Verlander.
The Tigers lead 10-1 in the fourth inning.
In the top of the fourth, Fulmer retired Jose Abreu (ground out), Todd Frazier (pop out) and Avisail Garcia (ground out).
Bottom 3: Five runs cross plate
Three White Sox pitchers were on the mound. Two Tigers blasted home runs. Five more runs tacked onto the scoreboard.
That was the third inning for the Tigers, who lead the White Sox 10-1 after three innings.
J.D. Martinez and John Hicks blasted home runs and Miguel Cabrera delivered his fourth RBI of the night.
Martinez (2-for-2, double, two RBIs) blasted the first pitch of the inning for a solo shot.
From there, Justin Upton was hit by a pitch, and Hicks followed with a two-run homer to left field that flirted with the foul pole.
That's when White Sox LHP Derek Holland was pulled from the mound. He entered the game ranked third in the American League with a 2.37 ERA, but the damage inflicted by the Tigers tonight was eight earned runs, three home runs and three doubles in 2 1/3 innings pitched.
White Sox right-handed reliever Michael Ynoa (3.86 ERA) entered the game, and the hit parade continued.
Jose Iglesias (2-for-2) reached on an infield single and scored on Dixon Machado’s one-out RBI triple to extend the lead.
It’s Machado’s first career triple.
The White Sox night worsened when Ynoa exited with an injury. Reliever Gregory Infante (5.40 ERA) is now on the mound to face the Tigers, who have seven extra-base hits tonight.
Nicholas Castellanos drew his third walk of the night. Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 10-1
Top 3: Fulmer shutout bid ends
Leury Garcia (.288) delivered a two-out RBI single to ruin the shutout hopes of Tigers starter Michael Fulmer.
The Tigers lead 5-1 heading to the bottom of the third.
In the top of the third, Fulmer struck out Tim Anderson (.261) and Kevan Smith (.222), but Yolmer Sanchez (.291) hit a two-out ground rule double and Garcia followed with a single.
Fulmer got out of the inning when he struck out Melky Cabrera, who entered tonight hitting .395 (17-for-43) in his last 11 games against Detroit.
Garcia was a nemesis of Fulmer in their past encounter last weekend when he cranked an eighth-inning RBI triple that paved the way to a White Sox victory.
Bottom 2: Cabrera gets 1,000th extra-base hit
Miguel Cabrera has become the 39th player in Major League Baseball history to record 1,000 extra-base hits.
Cabrera's two-RBI double in the second inning gives the Tigers a 5-0 lead.
Cabrera is the fourth active player to accomplish the milestone along with Albert Pujols (1,223), Adrian Beltre (1,074) and Carlos Beltran (1,052).
Earlier in the inning, Tigers center fielder Mikie Mahtook belted a solo homer to left-center field off White Sox LHP Derek Holland.
Jose Iglesias (.234) singled and then stole second base with two outs to move into scoring position for Nicholas Castellanos, who drew his second walk of the game.
That set the stage for Cabrera, who is 2-for-2 with two doubles and three RBIs tonight.
Victor Martinez followed with a single, but Cabrera ran through the stop sign of the Tigers third-base coach and was tagged out at the plate.
Mahtook's third homer of the season stretched 448 feet. The 27-year-old Mahtook, who was acquired from Tampa Bay on Jan. 18, now has hit safely in 11 of his last 18 games (games with at least one at-bat).
Top 2: Inning-ending double play helps Fulmer
Former Tiger Avisail Garcia (.332, 8 HR, 37 RBI) presented mild trouble when he reached base on a one-out error by Tigers second baseman Dixon Machado.
But Tigers starter Michael Fulmer buckled down and induced an inning-ending double play off the bat of Matt Davidson (.258, 10 HR).
Fulmer has issued just two walks in his past 26 1/3 innings, dating back to May 11 in Los Angeles against the Angels.
He has pitched seven or more quality innings in all five of his May starts.
Bottom 1: Miggy, J.D. blast RBI doubles
Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez delivered RBI doubles to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first inning off White Sox LHP Derek Holland.
Nicholas Castellanos reached base with a one-out walk and scored on Cabrera's eighth double of the season.
After Victor Martinez struck out, J.D. Martinez followed with an RBI double to the left-center field gap to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Cabrera now has 999 extra-base hits in his Major League Baseball career. He could become the 39th player in MLB history to reach the milestone and would be the fourth active player to accomplish the feat along with Albert Pujols (1,223), Adrian Beltre (1,074) and Carlos Beltran (1,052).
Top 1: Fulmer needs seven pitches
Tigers starter Michael Fulmer needed seven pitches to exit the opening inning — perhaps a sign of a repeat of his past performance against the White Sox.
In his previous start last weekend at Chicago, Fulmer was brilliant until the eighth inning. He needed just 67 pitches through seven innings and did not issue a walk.
Tonight, Fulmer quickly retired White Sox leadoff hitter Leury Garcia (ground out) and Melky Cabrera (fly out).
Jose Abreu, who is the reigning American League player of the week (.452, five extra-base hits), ended the inning with a ground out.
Fulmer seeks first career win vs. White Sox
Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer takes the mound in the first inning and seeks his first career victory against the White Sox. He has yet to beat Chicago in four starts. This season, he’s 0-1 in two meetings with a 3.86 ERA.
Fulmer seeks his 11th consecutive quality start to begin the season. He’s tied with Justin Verlander for the longest streak by a Tigers pitcher to begin a season since 1913.
In the top of the first, Fulmer will face White Sox batters Leury Garcia (.286), Melky Cabrera (.263, 30 RBI) and Jose Abreu (.289, 10 HR, 30 RBI).
Back home
The Tigers open a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox on Friday at Comerica Park. Follow here throughout the game for updates.
Tigers vs. White Sox
First pitch: 7:10, Comerica Park, Detroit
TV/radio: FSD/97.1
Pitchers: Tigers RHP Michael Fulmer (5-3, 2.65); White Sox LHP Derek Holland (4-4, 2.37)
Records: Tigers are 25-28, third place in AL Central and 3.5 games behind the Indians and Twins, who are tied for first. The White Sox are 24-28, fourth in the AL Central and 4 games back.
WHITE SOX LINEUP
1. Leury Garcia, CF
2. Melky Cabrera, LF
3. Jose Abreu,1B
4. Todd Frazier, DH
5. Avisail Garcia, RF
6. Matt Davidson, 3B
7. Tim Anderson, SS
8. Kevan Smith, C
9. Yolmer Sanchez, 2B
Derek Holland, SP
TIGERS LINEUP
1. Dixon Machado, 2B
2. Nicholas Castellanos, 3B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. J.D. Martinez, RF
6. Justin Upton, LF
7. John Hicks, C
8. Mikie Mahtook, CF
9. Jose Iglesias, SS
Michael Fulmer, SP
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