By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Mariners 6, Tigers 5 (15 inn) – The Seattle Mariners scored two runs in the bottom of the 15th inning to overcome a one-run deficit and defeat the Tigers late on Tuesday night.
The game, which lasted almost five hours, ended at 3 a.m. eastern standard time. Each team had a total of 16 hits and there was a total of 114 plate appearances on the night.
The Tigers had a 4-1 advantage before Seattle’s Kyle Seager blasted a three-run homer in the eighth inning to tie the game at 4-4.
Detroit finally broke the tie in the top of the 15th inning with a solo homer from Victor Martinez.
The Mariners responded with a one-out RBI single from Seager, then won the game on a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Mike Zunino.
Seattle was led offensively by Guillermo Heredia, Robinson Cano and Seager with three hits apiece, while Nelson Cruz and Adam Lind each chipped in with two.
The Tigers were led in a losing effort by Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez and Victor Martinez with a home run each while Ian Kinsler added a double.
Detroit’s starting pitcher Daniel Norris took a no-decision in his first start back since early July. He allowed one run on seven hits in five-plus innings of work.
The Tigers are now 61-52 on the season, good for second place in the American League Central Division behind the first-place Cleveland Indians. They are a game back of the Boston Red Sox for the final playoff spot.
Detroit will look to avoid the sweep with a win over the Mariners on Wednesday night.
Record: 61-52
Tied for 2nd Place in AL Central Division (3.5 games behind first-place Cleveland)
1 game behind Boston for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 52
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 55
Next Game: 08/10/2016 @ Seattle Mariners 10:10 p.m. @ Safeco Field
Hitting stats: Miguel Cabrera HR (26) 2 RBI (76), Victor Martinez HR (20) 2 RBI (66), J.D. Martinez HR (14) RBI (41), Ian Kinsler 2B (21).
Pitching stats: Francisco Rodriguez L (1-3) .2 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 0 K, Daniel Norris 5 IP 7 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 3 K.
