Former Tigers watch: Justin Verlander dominates Mariners in Astros debut

With the Detroit Tigers struggling something fierce as we head down the stretch, we Tigers fans need something else to entertain ourselves. The minor league season is over and we don’t want to watch football, so we’re turning to the next best thing: other baseball. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be checking in on our old friends as they make a push towards the 2017 postseason.

Houston Astros 3, Seattle Mariners 1 (box)

Justin Verlander struck out seven batters in six innings to pick up his first win in an Astros uniform. He only allowed one run — via a home run from Kyle Seager — and six hits to a potent Mariners offense. Cameron Maybin broke the game open with a two-run homer in the seventh inning.

Verlander: 6.0 IP, 6 H, ER, BB, 7 SO
Maybin: 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB, SO

Arizona Diamondbacks 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 1 (box)

The Diamondbacks won their 12th game in a row thanks to a strong outing from starter Zack Greinke. The former Dodger went seven innings, striking out six while allowing just four hits. J.D. Martinez went 1-for-5 with a double, and scored the first run of the game. Former Tiger Fernando Rodney worked a scoreless ninth inning for his 35th save of the season.

Martinez: 1-5, 2B, R, SO

Los Angeles Angels 8, Oakland Athletics 7 (box)

Justin Upton went 1-for-3 with an RBI and two walks as the Angels moved into the second wild card spot — but took eight pitchers (!) to do so. They currently hold a half game lead over the Minnesota Twins.

Upton: 1-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, SO

Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Chicago Cubs 3 (box)

Neither Alex Avila nor Justin Wilson played in the Cubs’ loss at Pittsburgh. Clearly, this is the fault of their manager and he should be replaced immediately.

AL PLAYOFF PICTURE

Baltimore Orioles 7, New York Yankees 6 (box)

The Yankees scored six runs in the third inning, but Dellin Betances blew a save opportunity in the bottom of the ninth. Too bad they don’t have Aroldis Chapman to fill that role.

Cleveland Indians 9, Chicago White Sox 4 (box)

The Indians are never going to lose again. The proof? Danny Salazar didn’t make it out of the first inning and the Tribe still won comfortably.

Detroit Tigers 13, Kansas City Royals 2 (box)

Man, that one was fun.

Tampa Bay Rays 2, Minnesota Twins 1 (box)

Bartolo Colon was solid, but took the loss because the Twins didn’t let him bat. We know what he’s capable of.

Boston Red Sox 3, Toronto Blue Jays 2 (F/19) (box)

This game went 19 innings, which seems crazy when you think about it. A Dave Dombrowski bullpen throwing 13 consecutive scoreless innings? Insane.

LOL IS THIS REALLY BASEBALL (NL PLAYOFF PICTURE)

Cincinnati Reds 9, Milwaukee Brewers 3 (box)

Once again, the Brewers were unable to take advantage of a Cubs loss. They are 3 ¹⁄₂ games out of the NL Central race that we all so desperately want them to win.

Washington Nationals 2, Miami Marlins 1 (box)

No Giancarlo Stanton dingers in this one. Moving on...

Colorado Rockies 9, San Francisco Giants 6 (box)

The Rockies used 21 players in this game. Death to expanded rosters.

(Okay, somehow it still only took 3 ¹⁄₂ hours.)

St. Louis Cardinals 8, San Diego Padres 4 (box)

The Cardinals’ Outfielder Cloning Machine came up with something called a Jose Martinez this time around, and he went 3-for-3 with two homers and three RBI.

Philadelphia Phillies 9, New York Mets 1 (box)

Philadelphia pitcher Ben Lively had a homer, two hits, and four RBI, in case you were wondering how this one went for the Mets.