By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Tigers 3, Phillies 1– Tigers’ closer Francisco Rodriguez nailed down his 400th career save in Tuesday’s win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Tigers have now won eight of their last nine games and are over the .500 mark for the first time since early May.
Rodriguez, who picked up his 14th save of the season for Detroit, allowed one run on two hits in the ninth inning.
Detroit’s starting pitcher Justin Verlander was dominated on the night, tossing eight scoreless innings allowing three hits while striking out 10 batters.
The Tigers were led offensively by Miguel Cabrera with a double and two RBIs while Victor Martinez chipped in with an RBI.
The Phillies were led in a losing effort by Tommy Joseph with an RBI while Freddy Galvis chipped in with two hits, including a double
The Tigers are now 23-22 on the season, good for fourth place in the American League Central Division behind the Chicago White Sox.
Detroit will look to sweep its series against the Phillies with a win on Wednesday afternoon.
Record: 23-22
4th Place in AL Central Division (3.5 games behind Chicago)
2 games behind Texas for last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 120
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 121
Next Game: 05/25/2016 vs Philadelphia Phillies 1:10 p.m. @ Comerica Park
Hitting stats: Miguel Cabrera 2B (9) 2 RBI (30), Victor Martinez RBI (26), J.D. Martinez 2B (9).
Pitching stats: Justin Verlander W (4-4) 8 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 10 K, Francisco Rodriguez SV (14) 1 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 1 K.
