clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Tigers 7, Athletics 3: Miguel Cabrera's 2 home runs help Detroit snap 4-game losing streak

Jordan Zimmermann was fantastic yet again.

By Catherine Slonksnis
Duane Burleson/Getty Images

DETROIT -- Miguel Cabrera's bat came alive and the rest of the Detroit Tigers offense followed. Backed by a plethora of runs, Jordan Zimmermann gave the team a stellar performance and the bullpen finished it out strong. In doing so, the Tigers broke a four-game losing streak and won 7-3 over the Oakland Athletics in the first of a four-game series.

Zimmermann made it look way too easy. He had three 1-2-3 innings and allowed just three hits through five innings, one which was erased on a double play. Until the sixth, Zimmermann breezed through the Oakland bats without breaking a sweat, and it looked like he might go the distance or close to it.

Were it not for Tyler Collins, the sixth inning might've looked entirely different and Zimmermann's scoreless streak might be intact. Instead, the stand-in centerfielder lost a flyout in the lights and a run eventually scored. It didn't change the final score, but Zimmermann's dazzling outing was slightly tarnished as a result.

For once, though, a starter had run support. Plenty of it. As Miguel Cabrera's bat goes, so goes the rest of the offense. And it went very well. He hit not one, but two moonshots into the right field seats. He was joined by Victor Martinez in the fifth when the two hit back-to-back blasts, accounting for five of the seven runs earned for the Tigers.

ROARS:

Miguel Cabrera: Supposedly he used Brad Ausmus' old bat for batting practice. Maybe it worked because he launched a solo shot to right for his second homer of the year in the first inning. Then proceeded to obliterate one in the fifth, a three-run moonshot. Oh, and he also had a double and a single.

Victor Martinez: Destroyed his own baseball with a home run, and also singled in the first.

Tigers offense: Finally, hits. And plenty of them. A dozen to be exact, and seven runs to boot (mostly courtesy of Cabrera but still).

Jordan Zimmermann: Finished with three runs on his line but only one was earned. And until the sixth he was cruel to the A's hitters. He also set the new record to start a season as a new Tigers player.

HISSES:

Tyler Collins: Can't be flipping the crowd off for losing a ball in the lights, even if they do boo you. Also, he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

STREAKS AND STATS:

  • Jordan Zimmermann opened the game with a scoreless first, handing him 20 1/3 scoreless frames to start his career as a Tiger. The streak sets a new record as the longest streak in franchise history for a new Tigers player.
  • Miguel Cabrera's homerless streak was snapped with his first-inning home run. His last had been on April 8, which was also his first of the year.
  • Cabrera's home run also snapped an 0-for-12 hitless streak, dating back to his last hit on April 20 at KC when the Tigers beat the Royals. That was also the last time the Tigers won a game.
  • Cabrera' double in the third inning gave him his first multi-hit game since April 16 when he went 3-for-5 with a double in a 5-3 win over the Astros. He had gone seven games without multiple hits in a game.
  • Cabrera and Victor Martinez's back-to-back home runs, marking the first occasion Tigers have gone back-to-back since April 5 vs. the Marlins in the ninth inning.
  • Cabrera's second homer marked his first multi-homer game since May 14, 2015 when he hit two and finished with five RBI in a 13-1 win over the Twins. It was his 34th multi-homer game of his career, and his 25th as a Tiger.
  • Miguel Cabrera finished with a four-hit day. His last was on April 12, 2015 vs. Cleveland, when he also hit two home runs and had four RBI.
  • Nick Castellanos' stolen base in the second inning was the third of his career and his first since June 30, 2014.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:


Source: FanGraphs

More From Bless You Boys