Tigers bounce back late to snap Giants’ win streak
Martinez, Upton deliver key blows in support of Fulmer’s strong outing
DETROIT Manager Brad Ausmus stayed with Michael Fulmer and it worked out quite well for the Detroit Tigers.
Fulmer pitched eight innings, Victor Martinez homered and Detroit snapped San Francisco’s six-game win streak with a 5-3 victory over the Giants on Tuesday.
Fulmer, who won the AL Rookie of the Year award last season, yielded a tying two-run homer to Brandon Crawford in the seventh, but Ausmus never considered pulling him.
“He’s earned that respect,” Ausmus said. “He’s been one of our best pitchers since the day he arrived and I wanted him on the mound.”
The Tigers responded with two runs in the bottom half on Justin Upton’s two-out, two-run single. Fulmer worked a perfect eighth and Justin Wilson got the final three outs for his ninth save.
“It was huge to get a chance to finish the seventh and go back out for the eighth,” said Fulmer, who was named an all-star for the first time on Sunday. “The offence picked me up and we got a big win.”
Fulmer allowed two homers for the first time this season.
“We had a lot of good, hard contact,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We hit a lot of deep fly balls that didn’t go out. That’s this park — it holds balls in.”
Upton, who missed the previous three games with soreness in his side, went 3 for 3. Nicholas Castellanos also drove in a run for Detroit with a sacrifice fly.
Upton’s big day helped make up for the loss of slugger Miguel Cabrera, who left after six innings due to left hip tightness. Ausmus said he expects Cabrera to play on Wednesday night.
“It’s the same thing that’s been bothering him,” he said. “It tightened up a little, but I’ll be shocked if he’s not right back out there.”
San Francisco right-hander Matt Cain surrendered five runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. He dropped to 0-7 in nine starts since beating the Dodgers on May 15.
“We’ve all been searching for wins, so I’m not going to have a pity party,” he said. “This was a tough one, because our guys battled back and we couldn’t pull it off.”
The Giants jumped in front on Hunter Pence’s two-out solo homer over the out-of-town scoreboard in right-centre in the first. The drive ended Fulmer’s homerless streak at 73 2/3 innings — the longest active streak in the majors.
Martinez connected in the second and hit an RBI single in the fourth for a 2-1 Tigers lead.
The Giants flew out to the warning track four times in the first four innings, but only managed two hits. Fulmer’s command improved as the game went on, and he began to dominate in the middle innings.
“I really wasn’t comfortable early, and I was ending up in a lot of 2-0 and 2-1 counts,” he said. “I did some mental drills in the dugout between innings and I ended up finding the bottom of the strike zone again.”
San Francisco rallied in the seventh. Brandon Belt doubled with one out and Crawford followed with a drive to right for his seventh homer, tying it at 3.
Wilson is 2-2 with eight saves in nine chances since taking over the closer’s role in early May.
“I’ve just tried to treat it like I would any role in the bullpen,” he said. “I want to excel, and I want to keep the job.”
RHP Daniel Norris (4-6, 5.00 ERA) pitches for the Tigers on Wednesday. He is 2-1 with a 4.58 ERA in five interleague appearances, including four starts.