Mariners 3, Tigers 2 (12): David Price's splendid start spoiled by lack of timely offense

With both David Price and Hisashi Iwakuma on the mound, fans would have expected a pitcher's duel. That's exactly what they got as both starters went deep into the game, with Price making it into the ninth. But after it became a battle of the bullpens, the Seattle Mariners came out on top, the Detroit Tigers dropping the game 3-2 in extras.

Price was dominant against the Mariners. He painted the inside corners, the outside, up, in, and everywhere in between. He made just two mistakes. One, a home run in the first to Kyle Seager, and the other on a wild pitch in the seventh that put the tying run, Robinson Cano, in scoring position. Cano then came around to score on a rare J.D. Martinez error, tying the game.

Regardless, Price's day as a whole was outstanding. He finished the day with 116 pitches, eight innings plus a batters faced -- that resulted in a double -- one walk, and seven strikeouts. Once the game went to the bullpen it was a shaky exhibition with the Tigers bullpen on the mound. And unsurprisingly, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus went with Ian Krol in the 12th over Alex Wilson -- the proclaimed long relief pitcher for extras -- and paid for it. The go-ahead run scored and the Tigers never bounced back.

With a pitcher's battle going on at Comerica, scraping out runs for the Tigers was hard to come by. After a two-run double by Victor Martinez to start the game, giving them the 2-1 lead, they fell nearly silent, having just two real scoring opportunities. There were a couple of two-out walks but that was it otherwise. Iwakuma settled quickly after the first and gave up just three hits for the remainder of his seven innings of work.

And things didn't improve for the Tigers when the Mariners' bullpen arrived -- despite what you might think. Twice they had solid chances to win the game, and they never capitalized. Jose Iglesias singled to start the bottom of the 12th, which was followed by an intentional walk of Yoenis Cespedes.

That in turn brought Jefry Marte, who had pinch ran for Victor Martinez in the previous inning at second -- he never advanced. Instead of the Mariners being forced to face Martinez -- pinch running for him with less than two outs isn't a bad move -- Marte grounded out quietly to end it. In the end, as much as the bullpen struggled, it was the offense that lost the game. They had more than enough chances and didn't get it done.

ROARS:

Victor Martinez: Drilled a two-run double in the first, the only two runs by the Tigers for eight innings.

David Price: He was stellar on the mound, allowing just four hits and two runs over eight innings. It would have been just one run had it not been for an error by J.D. Martinez.

HISSES:

J.D. Martinez: Has been outstanding with the glove this year, but he made a rare error when he didn't get in front of a ball in the seventh, which allowed the tying run to score. He was also 0-for-2 with two strikeouts today.

Tigers offense: True, Iwakuma was on the mound. There weren't many chances for the Tigers to take advantage of him, but there were a couple, namely a two-out double in the fifth and a one-out, two-on situation in the seventh. They had 10 hits but scratched out just the two runs.

Ian Krol: How he's still on this team boggles the mind. Anyway, he gave up the winning run to the Mariners in the 12th. Professional white flag.

STREAKS AND STATS:

• Ian Kinsler's hit his 35th multi-hit game of the season, tied with Indians' Jason Kipnis for second-most in MLB. Only Rangers' Prince Fielder has more, with 40.
• J.D. Martinez cut down Nelson Cruz at second base when he tried to stretch a single into a double. It marked his 12th assist of the year, tied for most in MLB for an outfielder, along with Rangers' Leonys Martin.
• David Price received a no-decision for today's start, along with a quality start. It is the fourth such time this season he's gotten both a quality start and received a no-decision.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs