My stars! A sacrifice fly!

Just a friggin' great game yesterday. Jarrod Washburn, facing his former team, got lit up once again. In his four starts with the Tigers, Washburn fared poorly in three. Is it time to panic? Not yet. Let's wait until he gets eight starts under his belt. Yesterday, the Mariners jumped on him early... and dramatically. Courtesy of three home runs, the Mariner's enjoyed a 4-0 lead in the 4th. The Tigers clawed back to 4-2, but then the Mariners homered again to make it 6-2.

It was not looking good, but a rain delay changed the Tigers' fortunes. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 6th, the rain began to pour down. 58minutes later, the game resumed. Aubrey Huff grounded out to score one run. Then, with two outs, Alex Avila singled home two more to make it 6-5.

Failing to capitalize on even more baserunners in the 7th and 8th, the Tigers' relievers (Miner and Seay) at least kept Seattle off the board. Still a run down in the bottom of the 9th, Carlos Guillen led off with a walk. Raburn, with 3 hits on the day, popped out. Then Cabrera doubled down the right-field line. Guillen advanced to third. The Mariners decided to load the bases by walking Maggs.

Up stepped Brandon Inge - perhaps the most clutch Tiger during the first half of the season - though more of a strike-out candidate in the 2nd half. Ol' Brandon looped a pop fly into left-center. It was deep enough for Carlos to try to tag-up. Every Mariner outfielder has a rocket-arm, and this play was destined to be close. The throw to the catcher was directly on line. Carlos, no doubt sensing the close play at the plate, opted not to slide. Instead, he ran directly into the catcher, who was blocking home plate. The ball arrived slightly ahead of Carlos, but the impact of the collision jarred the ball loose. Safe! Great play by Guillen, and it tied the game. Cabrera advanced to third.

The next batter was Clete Thomas. Quickly falling behind 0-2, Clete slowly worked the count full. Then, he turned on a fastball and whipped it over the first baseman's head into right field. Cabrera bounded home and made a B-line to Clete. It was soon a mob scene, with Clete's 2nd walk-off hit in a month. Just a great win by the Tigers and so uncharacteristic. They won the game with a sacrifice fly and super-clutch hitting. And it was against a good team and a good pitcher - David Aardsma (2.43 ERA), who'd been lights-out until recently.

Now, it's a six-game road trip to Oakland and Anaheim. The Tigers know they must improve on the road. Said Leyland, "It'll have to change, or we won't win anything." Oakland beat up the Tigers during their last visit, and Anaheim is simply one of the elite. It's now late August - crunch time. It will be interesting to see how the Tigers respond. They definitely raised their level of play against Boston (despite winning just one). Let's hope it continues.