Tigers 6, Mariners 2
DETROIT -- Miguel Cabrera blasted his first home run since Aug. 26, ending a 15-game drought, and Austin Jackson drove in two runs to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night at Comerica Park.
Al Alburquerque (3-3) got the win in relief for the Tigers, who began the night six games in front of second-place Cleveland in the American League Central. Starter Anibal Sanchez had 10 strikeouts, his fifth double-digit total this season, and Don Kelly also homered for Detroit.
Raul Ibanez blasted his 28th homer and 299th of his career for Seattle, which has lost eight of its last nine.
Pinch-hitter Kendrys Morales doubled off a tiring Sanchez to tie it 2-2 in the seventh. Torii Hunter's sacrifice fly off reliever Yoervis Medina (4-6), which knocked in Jose Iglesias, put Detroit back on top in the bottom of the inning.
Seattle loaded the bases against Phil Coke in the eighth, but Jose Alvarez came in and induced Mike Zunino to hit into a double play.
Detroit tacked on three insurance runs in the eighth on Omar Infante's RBI single and Jackson's two-run single.
Cabrera led off the sixth with his opposite-field homer, giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead. His 44th home run tied his career high, established last season when he achieved the Triple Crown.
Ibanez made it 1-1 with a two-out shot in the sixth.
Seattle starter Brandon Maurer had lost five of his last six starts while posting a 9.11 ERA but got through the first three innings unscathed. He also recorded two outs in the fourth before Kelly jumped on a 2-1 fastball and drove it into the right-field stands.
Kelly's sixth homer of the season broke the scoreless deadlock.
The Mariners had runners in scoring position in the fifth, but Abraham Almonte's groundout ended the threat.
NOTES: Detroit closer Joaquin Benoit and top left-handed reliever Drew Smyly were unavailable to pitch. Both had appeared in the previous two games and manager Jim Leyland didn't want them to pitch three straight days. ... The Tigers entered the game ranked third among American League teams in attendance with an average of 37,951. "We've got a great atmosphere," Leyland said. "I don't know how you can beat it. The place is hopping." ... Seattle manager Eric Wedge said he has fully recovered from the mild stroke he suffered on July 22. Wedge returned to the club on Aug. 24. "It changes the way you view life," he said. "I'm 45 years old and to have something like that to go down, it does point you in a different direction, but a better direction. I feel better than I have in a long time." ... With his homer on Monday, Almonte joined Ichiro and Carlos Guillen as the only Mariners rookies to have at least one hit in 12 of their first 13 games with an official at-bat.
