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 After pounding out 20 hits in Thursday's 13-1 beating of Minnesota,
Detroit's bats made the trip to Busch Stadium Friday night, abusing
the St. Louis Cardinals for 17 hits in a 10-4 verdict that kicked
off a marquee interleague series.
"Every hit you get off a pitcher, his confidence goes down," Tigers
right fielder J.D. Martinez said. "Confidence is everything in
baseball. Everyone has the talent or they wouldn't be here. It's
what happens in the six inches between your ears."
Detroit's lineup has the ability to make any pitcher wonder about
his ability, but has operated in fits and starts so far. However, it
worked over St. Louis' bullpen in the latter innings after forcing
starter Carlos Martinez (3-2) out of the game after five-plus
innings and 103 pitches.
The Tigers lit up the heavily used Cardinals relief corps for eight
runs in the last three innings, highlighted by first baseman Miguel
Cabrera's 399th career homer, a two-run blast to center off Mitch
Harris in the seventh that gave Detroit a 4-0 lead.
It made Cabrera Venezuela's all-time homer leader, surpassing former
All-Star first baseman Andres Galarraga. It was also Cabrera's third
homer in two games.
"He's heated up quickly," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said of
Cabrera. "It looks like he's staying back and driving the ball. I
thought we kept pressing and that our hitters had good at-bats. They
were really selective."
Martinez followed Cabrera's homer with his eighth, marking the first
time Detroit (22-14) registered back-to-back blasts this year.
St. Louis (24-11) responded with two-run clouts by shortstop Jhonny
Peralta in the seventh and right fielder Jason Heyward in the
eighth, pulling within 6-4 and injecting some suspense into the
game.
But the Tigers sent most of a sellout crowd of 45,601 for the exits
with a five-hit, four-run ninth that featured a bullet two-run
double by left fielder Yoenis Cespedes, plus an RBI double from
catcher James McCann and a run-scoring single from shortstop Jose
Iglesias.
Cabrera, Cespedes, McCann and center fielder Anthony Gose each
finished with three hits. Iglesias and Martinez picked up two
apiece. Second baseman Ian Kinsler was the only position player
without a hit, and he joined in the fun with a run and RBI.
Starter Shane Greene (4-2) picked up the win with five shutout
innings, leaving with what the Tigers called ulnar neuritis in his
right hand. Greene scattered five hits, walked two and fanned four.
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Greene said his pinky and ring fingers started going numb when he
walked Peralta in the fifth.
"I felt really good until then," Greene said. "I'm not a doctor so I
don't know what's going on, but we'll get to the bottom of it. I'm
not feeling any pain."
Carlos Martinez tied a career high with eight strikeouts for the
Cardinals, but allowed seven hits and two runs along with two walks.
It was the seventh straight game in which a St. Louis starter failed
to make it past the sixth inning.
The Cardinals also missed on a spate of opportunities during the
first six innings, going 1-for-7 with men in scoring position and
stranding 10 runners for the night.
"There were some missed opportunities," St. Louis manager Mike
Matheny said. "We also had some good at-bats. We had 10 hard outs."
Meanwhile, Detroit's offense put together a second straight huge
game.
"There was never any panic or concern in the clubhouse," J.D.
Martinez said. "We knew it was a matter of time."
NOTES: St. Louis LHP Jaime Garcia (shoulder) made his second rehab
start Friday night for Double-A Springfield at Northwest Arkansas.
Garcia pitched six innings, allowing six hits and two runs with no
walks and six strikeouts. ... Detroit RHP Justin Verlander (right
triceps strain) threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session Friday.
Verlander was disabled on March 29. ... Cardinals 1B Matt Adams was
benched for Mark Reynolds, even though RHP Shane Greene was
pitching. The left-handed-hitting Adams went 1-for-21 on the team's
six-game road trip, dropping his average to .236.
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