Iwakuma outduels Verlander as M's blank Tigers

Associated Press Sports

updated 8:23 p.m. ET April 18, 2013

SEATTLE (AP) - Justin Verlander was disappointed in the pitch he threw to Kyle Seager.

Seager, who was pinch hitting in the seventh inning, hit an RBI double to break a scoreless tie and help give the Seattle Mariners a 2-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.

Seager came to the plate with two outs and Robert Andino on first. He doubled on Verlander's first pitch into the left-field corner. Andino scored from first.

Verlander (2-2), who threw 126 pitches in seven innings, said, "it was belt-high and outer half. For what he was trying to do right there, it was the perfect pitch. Perfect for what he was trying to do, not what I was trying to do.

"It was a bad pitch. Not taking anything away from him - he came up and jumped on a first-pitch fastball - but I didn't execute."

Seager, who had been taking swings in the batting cage since the fifth inning, said, "in that situation I think you have to be aggressive."

Verlander struck out 12 - two short of his career high - gave up nine hits, two runs and walked one.

But he added that the pitch to Seager wasn't his only bad one. He regrets his curveball to Andino.

"I wouldn't throw that again," he said. "My breaking pitch today was the worst of my four pitches. I threw good sliders, was locating my fastball, pretty good changeup. I think any of those three pitches might give me a better opportunity to get him out than the one I threw."

Endy Chavez followed Seager with a RBI single to left. Tigers catcher Alex Avila caught the throw from left-fielder Andy Dirks, but did not position himself in front of the plate to block Seager's slide. He slid under the tag.

"I was going straight in on my slide," Seager said. "The ball bounced in front of the plate and he leaned back to catch the hop, which opened it up for me to catch the corner (of the plate)."

The teams played the series finale about 13 hours after the Tigers' 2-1 victory in 14 innings in a game that had a combined 40 strikeouts and had Justin Smoak tagged out at home in a collision with catcher Brayan Pena for the final out.

Carter Capps (1-1) worked two innings on Thursday for his first major league victory. Tom Wilhelmsen earned his sixth save.

Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma continued his strong start. He matched up well with Verlander until he developed a blister in the middle finger of his right hand, forcing him to leave after just six innings and 70 pitches. He allowed three hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

In his four starts this season, Iwakuma has allowed just 12 hits, five runs, two walks and 18 strikeouts. He has a 1.69 ERA

One of the Tigers' best chances came in the first when Miguel Cabrera sent Chavez to the warning track. But Chavez went to the left-center wall to make the catch.

"He locates the ball and can get a little extra when he wants to," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said of Iwakuma. "He changes speed and throws this into that count and that into this count. Very impressive."

The only Tiger to reach second was Victor Martinez in the fifth. He singled, advanced to second on Jhonny Peralta's ground out and was left stranded.

The Tigers tried to rally in the ninth off Wilhelmsen. With one out, Prince Fielder lifted a fly ball to shallow right. Chavez, playing deep, had a long run before making a diving catch.

"I try to catch anything that's possible," Chavez said. "With Victor Martinez behind (Fielder), I know he has some power. I just didn't want him to hit with men on base. So I try to go for it."

The Tigers finish their West Coast swing with three weekend games against the Los Angeles Angels.

"We were hoping to get a little extra treat with a sweep, but we didn't do it," Leyland said. "That's OK, part of the game. You don't often come in and beat up on teams in our league three straight."

Notes: After the 14-inning game Wednesday, the Mariners needed to add to their bullpen. The club promoted RHP Hector Noesi from Triple-A Tacoma before the game. RHP Bobby LaFrombois, who came up April 10, went back down. "It's his day to pitch, so we needed a guy who can give us the greatest amount of length, in case we needed it," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. ... Fielder had two hits after going 0 for 11 in the first two games. ... The combined 40 strikeouts by the Tigers and Mariners on Wednesday tied for the second most since 1920. ... The A's and Angels combined for a record 43 in 20 innings on July 9, 1971 and the Padres and Giants also had 40 on June 19, 2001.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

More news

Jeter suffers another setback

HBT:?Derek Jeter?made an unscheduled trip?to the ankle surgeon and has a "small crack" in his ankle that will keep him out for the first half of the season.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51591093/ns/sports-baseball/

West Texas American Airlines Carlos Arredondo Pat Summerall Martin Richard Bbc News friends