Verlander keeps A's under his thumb
OAKLAND -- Justin Verlander's biggest nemesis wasn't the A's but a blister on his right thumb on the edge of his knuckle. He still overpowered the Athletics lineup to earn his third consecutive win.
"It just caught me on my thumb and it's been happening for me all season long," Verlander said. "I looked down there towards the seventh inning and it was bleeding."
Verlander alerted the team trainer and pitching coach Jeff Jones in the clubhouse and they all decided it was best he not return for the eighth inning.
"Obviously I want to go back out but the risk/reward, I've gone seven innings and we've got (Joaquin) Benoit and (Jose) Valverde lined up to go so there's no point risking something serious happening," Verlander said.
Verlander pitched seven innings allowing two hits and striking out eight as the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1.
"I like being the guy that when I take the mound, the team looks to in those situations and feels like we've got a good chance to win," Verlander said. "I just go out there and do whatever I can."
Miguel Cabrera had two RBI singles and Austin Jackson walked with the bases loaded to give the Tigers a split of the four-game series.
"We got a couple of timely hits from Cabrera and Verlander was good," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We didn't really break out but we swung it a little bit better. A good win and good way to get on the plane and head to Chicago."
Jarrod Parker kept the A's close but took the loss pitching 5 2/3 innings giving up six hits and two runs.
"I'm not happy with it," Parker said. "I battled, I just need to stay focused and just continue working ahead and getting better each time."
The A's offense was provided by Seth Smith's solo home run leading off the fifth inning but Oakland's lineup more or less resembles their Triple-A roster because of many nagging injuries to key players.
"You go through the course of a season you have some games like this," Athletics manager Bob Melvin said. "The guys you run out there and start, you have to have confidence in that they can finish the game and we just came up short against three pretty good pitchers today."
Parker was in trouble the first two innings but escaped without allowing any runs in both frames. Although he allowed consecutive one-out singles to Andy Dirks and Cabrera, the Tigers failed to score.
He also escaped a bases-loaded situation in the second.
The Tigers took the lead in the fifth inning. After Parker retired eight in a row, Detroit got a one-out single by Jackson and he scored on a base hit to center by Cabrera.
Parker had two outs and then gave up a double to Brennan Boesch and two walks to Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Raburn to load the bases when he exited in the sixth inning. Reliever Grant Balfour battled Jackson but walked in the go-ahead run.
The Tigers got a big insurance run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Cabrera.
With Verlander out of the game, the A's had a golden opportunity to tie the score. Benoit walked Daric Barton to start the eighth inning. After Barton was sacrificed to second, Eric Sogard and Cliff Pennington each struck out, stranding the potential tying run.
Before the game, Balfour spoke to the media to voice his displeasure about losing the closer's role to Brian Fuentes. Manager Bob Melvin told reporters after Saturday's game that he was giving the job to Fuentes for the time being.
"He makes the decisions, not me. I told him I wasn't happy about it," Balfour said. "I was (ticked) off. It's fine, whatever. He knows how I feel. I'll just go on the field and do what I do."
Balfour has two blown saves, both in April as his ERA has ballooned from 0.82 to 4.24. In four May appearances, he is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA, giving up seven hits and three runs in four innings.
"Do I feel like it was kind of a short leash? Yeah, a little bit," Balfour said. "Shoot, I had a couple bad games. I feel like I've pitched pretty good here for the last year and a month. There goes that. It's kind of a bit of a bummer. I'm disappointed."
Notes: Prince Fielder is 0-for-22 and did not get a hit in this series. ... Verlander has won his last 13 road decisions and has pitched at least six innings in his last 50 starts dating back to August 22, 2010. ... Parker has issued 9 walks in his last 12 2/3 innings pitched. ... The A's left only three runners on base. ... Dallas Braden threw the 19th perfect game on Mother's Day in 2010 beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-0.
