DETROIT (AP) ” Victor Martinez homered and Detroit ace Justin Verlander limited NY to four hits in six innings to help the Tigers to their ninth victory in their last 10 games. Shane Greene and Justin Wilson each worked a scoreless inning and Francisco Rodriguez gave up a ninth-inning run but still notched his 31st save. Verrett is winless with a 5.61 ERA in six starts since Matt Harvey was sent to the disabled list and underwent season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.
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Curtis Granderson hit his 18th home run of the year, a solo shot to right, with one out in the fifth off Boyd, cutting the Mets’ deficit to 6-2. NY has dropped seven of its last 10 to fall nine games behind division-leading Washington in the National League East. Kelly Johnson has homered in back-to-back games for the Mets, who are two back of the second wild card.
New York’s SP Noah Syndergaard (9-6) pitched 6 innings, giving up 7 hits, 2 walks and 4 earned runs while striking out 7.
“The more attention that’s paid to a particular game he’s pitching or the matchup, whether it’s him versus Syndergaard, him versus Chris Sale, I think his concentration goes up another notch. Getting on base, stealing second, stealing third, and then Miggy’s groundball gets him in”, manager Brad Ausmus said.
“It’s really tough to lose this one”, NY manager Terry Collins said, “because we had so many good at-bats in the last few innings, and we just couldn’t get the one big hit”. They have lost two in a row and not won consecutive games since July 6-7. Victor Martinez led off with a double and moved to third on a single by J.D. Martinez.
“After we got the lead, I went out to the mound telling myself that, no matter what, I couldn’t blow it”, Syndergaard said. “I’m not pitching badly, but I’m not doing what I know I can do”. The Mets managing staff does not realize that despite how injury-ridden they are, they will not get anywhere having players like Alejandro De Aza, Ty Kelly, and Justin Ruggiano to come in and take over a place in their lineup.
Ian Kinsler made it 4-1 with a line single to left and Cabrera drove in two more with a line single to right off reliever Jonathon Niese, upping the lead to 6-1. Cabrera fielded his grounder and threw toward second, but the ball hit runner Neil Walker in the head and bounced toward center field. In 2014, he hit two and in 2015, he hit one.
A sellout crowd at Comerica Park watched as Bruce left second base and raced around third with two outs to try to complete a five-run comeback. It was almost a redeeming hit for d’Arnaud, who previously had struck out twice and grounded into a double play. Baserunners have been successful on 32 of 36 steal attempts against Syndergaard in 2016. Detroit would add another run later in the frame after James McCann delivered an RBI single, making it a 4-2 game. “I think he’s trying to do what Pedro (Martinez) told him, do what other guys told him”.
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The surging Detroit Tigers continue their pursuit of the top spot in the American League Central when they host the New York Mets on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series. Zimmermann will throw a bullpen session on Sunday before the Tigers decide if he will make his next start. CF Cameron Maybin sat out his second straight game with a bruised thumb.
