Tigers 3, Mariners 2: Edwin Jackson continues his resurgence in Detroit

It was a victorious night for the Motor City Kitties as the Detroit Tigers took game two of the three-game series against the Seattle Mariners by a final of 3-2. Edwin Jackson earned his second win in as many games back with Detroit as he continues to turn back the clock by 10 years to his lone All-Star campaign.

The Tigers struck first in the second, as they led off the inning with three straight singles, courtesy of John Hicks, Harold Castro, and Travis Demeritte. After a strike out from Jake Rogers and a pop out from Jordy Mercer, it looked like the Tigers were destined to squander a no out, bases loaded situation against Seattle starter Marco Gonzales. Victor Reyes, hitting in the leadoff spot for the injured JaCoby Jones, had other plans. Reyes sent the definition of a lil looper over second base and into center field to score two runs, putting Detroit up 2-0.

Miguel Cabrera led off the third inning with his 574th career double, tying him with Bobby Abreu for the most doubles by a Venezuelan-born player in Major League Baseball history, and tied him with Abreu and Tigers legend Charlie Gehringer for 23rd on the all-time list. Feeling confident in his running ability, Cabrera then tried to score on a single into center field from Niko Goodrum, but was thrown out by a country mile by Keon Broxton.

Thankfully, Castro, who tallied three hits on the evening, was able to score Goodrum — who took second on Cabrera’s base running gaffe — on a sharp single to right field to put the Tigers up 3-0.

The Mariners got on the board in the fourth inning with a solo shot from J.P. Crawford into the corner of right field. In the fifth, Seattle’s power hitting first baseman, Daniel Vogelbach, hit an absolute mammoth shot 435 feet into the deepest seats in right-center field, pulling the score to 3-2.

Jackson threw five quality innings for the Tigers, allowing only those two solo home runs while striking out four batters and walking one. For a guy with a 9-plus ERA, he has been a god-send for a thoroughly depleted Detroit pitching staff. As the Tigers limp to the finish of a long and trying season, Jackson’s resurgence is a feel-good story worth following while the top pitching prospects gain valuable experience in the middle of a playoff race in Double-A Erie.

After Jackson departed, the Tigers got a rare scoreless outing from their bullpen. Quality outings from Gregory Soto, Buck Farmer, and Joe Jimenez — not to mention the help of Rogers’ powerful right arm throwing out base runnings behind the plate — helped seal the victory for Detroit. Jimenez was especially impressive, throwing a tidy one-two-three inning including a strikeout of Vogelbach to earn his second save of the season.