Tigers 15, White Sox 5: Slug City

So if you were about to check out on the Tigers’ season and spend your summer watching the sun set over the lake, it would have been an understandable opinion. The team’s first two stops on a horrendous road trip did not look pretty. Friday night in Detroit the Tigers reminded you they’re still pretty fun. After hitting three home runs of 400 or more feet and scoring 10 runs in just the first three innings against the White Sox, Detroit cruised to a 15-5 victory.

It’s hard to know where to even start. Mikie Mahtook gave Detroit a 3-0 lead in the second inning with a 448-foot home run that bounced off the brick wall in left-center. Miguel Cabrera made it 5-0 with a double in the frame — his second double of the game and 1,000th extra-base hit of his career. J.D. Martinez made it 6-1 with a 430-foot home run. Then John Hicks hit a towering homer to left field, 444 feet in total, for an 8-1 lead. It was 10-1 by the end of the third inning. There were other hits. There were other hits and other runs but they were insignificant to our tale.

Meanwhile Michael Fulmer had a good, not great, game. His streak of 10 games with a quality start came to an end when he gave up five runs on seven hits allowed across seven innings. He fell a little bit too in love with a fastball that stayed above 95 mph and forgot to mix a few other pitches in until it was too late. He finished the night with five strikeouts.

Roars

J.D. Martinez — He hit a double, a triple, and a home run but couldn’t come up with the single to complete the cycle.

Miguel Cabrera -- Went 3-for-3 with a pair of extra-base hits and four RBI.

Everyone else -- HOLY CRAP. May as well list the entire offense. We’ll call out Dixon Machado’s triple. Jose Iglesias had three hits, and Justin Upton had two.

Hisses

Michael Fulmer -- He gave up five runs in seven innings. Do I want to hiss? No. I do not want to. But I feel I must.

Stats and Stuff

• Miguel Cabrera hit his 1,000th career extra-base hit with his second double of the game. MLBAM won’t make the video embeddable so click that link.
• The Tigers scored 10 runs in the first three innings vs. the White Sox. They scored nine runs in the entire four-game series in Chicago. Quite a difference a week makes. (h/t Fox Sports Detroit)
• Tigers home run distances include 448 feet (Mikie Mahtook!), 430 feet (J.D. Martinez), and 444 feet (John Hicks!!)