By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJounral.com
Tigers 4, Mets 3 – Justin Verlander pitched the Tigers to a victory over the New York Mets on Friday night.
Verlander picked up his 12th win of the season, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out nine batters in six innings.
Detroit jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning before the Mets took a 2-1 advantage with a pair of runs in the fourth inning.
The Tigers regained their lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 4-2 lead.
The Mets closed out the scoring with a run in the ninth inning but failed to score the game-tying run.
Detroit was led by Victor Martinez with a two-run homer while Miguel Cabrera and James McCann each added an RBI. Ian Kinsler chipped in with two singles and two stolen bases.
New York was paced in a losing effort by Kelly Johnson with a two-run home run while Neil Walker had two hits for the Mets.
The Tigers are now 60-49 on the season, good for second place in the American League Central Division behind the first-place Cleveland Indians. They are tied for the final playoff spot with the Boston Red Sox.
Detroit will look to win the series against the Mets with a victory on Saturday night.
Record: 60-49
Tied for 2nd Place in AL Central Division (2 games behind first-place Cleveland)
Tied with Boston for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 55
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 57
Next Game: 08/06/2016 vs. New York Mets 7:10 p.m. @ Comerica Park
Hitting stats: Victor Martinez HR (19) 2 RBI (64), Miguel Cabrera RBI (71), James McCann RBI (34), J.D. Martinez 2B (21), Ian Kinsler 2 SB (12).
Pitching stats: Justin Verlander W (12-6) 6 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 9 K, Francisco Rodriguez SV (31) 1 IP 1 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 0 K.
