The M's beat the Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander 5-3 Tuesday night thanks to timely hitting from Milton Bradley. The M’s outfielder went yard in his first at-bat with a man on, providing an early 2-0 advantage. Combine this with another good showing from RHP Doug Fister, and the up-and-down Mariners achieved another home victory.
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Fister ended his night going 7.0 IP and allowing 3 R (2ER) off of 9 hits. The biggest mix up of the night from the M’s towering starter came in the 6th inning which he gave up a big home run to Tigers’ 3B Brandon Inge, essentially giving Detroit a 3-2 advantage late in the game. The lead was short-lived as Franklin Gutierrez hit his 5th homer of the year to right field in the bottom of the 6th to even up the score.
The M’s weren’t intimidated heading into the 8th and eventually ran Verlander out of the game with two men on. Milton Bradley earned his third RBI of the night after singling to right field, giving the M’s a 4-3 lead off of one of the league’s best pitchers. Jose Lopez hit a sac fly directly after, earning the final insurance run of the game before handing the game to David Aardsma.
The Seattle bullpen was stellar after Fister left the game in the 7th, allowing no hits and only one base runner in the 8th off a walk via Shawn Kelley. David Aardsma earned save number 10 on the year after a shut-down 9th inning.
Heading into Wednesday’s rainy matinee, the Mariners hope to earn a two-game sweep of the Tigers, who have lost three out of their four appearances to Safeco Field this season. Detroit will send Jeremy Bonderman (2-2, 4.43) to the mound to face off against lefty Jason Vargas (3-2, 3.08). Vargas hasn’t thrown a “bad” start since his season debut in Texas back in early April, and hopes to keep his momentum rolling at home.
Reach Jacob Kehle at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
