Tigers 5, Mariners 4
DETROIT -- Victor Martinez drove in the go-ahead run with the second of his two run-scoring doubles to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Comerica Park on Thursday.
Prince Fielder had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run while Torii Hunter homered and also scored twice for Detroit. The Tigers reduced their magic number to clinch the American League Central to four.
Doug Fister (13-9) got the win while striking out 10 in 7 2/3 innings and giving up four runs against his former team. The strikeout total was his second-highest this season. He had 12 against Pittsburgh on May 30. Joaquin Benoit recorded his 22nd save.
Tigers rookie shortstop Jose Iglesias suffered a left hand contusion when he was hit by a Tom Wilhelmsen pitch in the sixth. X-rays were negative and Iglesias is listed as day-to-day.
Dustin Ackley blasted a three-run homer for Seattle, which lost three of the four games in the series.
Fielder scored from first on Martinez's double into the left-field corner in the seventh to put Detroit in front. Fielder, who eluded the tag of catcher Mike Zunino after Carlos Triunfel's relay throw, had just knocked in the tying run with an RBI single off reliever Charlie Furbush (2-6).
Ackley's fourth homer of the season gave Seattle a 4-3 advantage in the fifth. He ripped a 2-0 offering from Fister into the right-field stands.
The Tigers scored two first inning-runs on Hunter's 17th homer and Martinez's RBI double. Omar Infante's bases-loaded walk made it 3-1 in the third. Raul Ibanez's RBI single scored the Mariners' first run.
NOTES: Seattle ace Felix Hernandez (left oblique strain) threw a 58-pitch bullpen session and pronounced himself ready to return to the rotation. Hernandez, who also threw a bullpen session on Monday, will likely make his next start against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. He has not pitched since Sept. 2, when he gave up three runs in 6 2/3 innings at Kansas City. ... Mariners SS Brad Miller, who missed the entire four-game series with a hamstring injury, is showing improvement and could be available sometime this weekend. "He's coming along a little bit quicker than we thought," manager Eric Wedge said. "He won't be ready to get back in there (Friday) but we'll probably push him a little bit more." ... Martinez made his third start at catcher this season. Martinez, who missed last season after undergoing knee surgery, could get another start behind the plate in Miami next weekend, according to manager Jim Leyland. ... Tigers pitchers recorded 12 strikeouts, giving them 1,323 for the season. That broke the single-season franchise record of 1,318 strikeouts set last season.
