Gonzales' sharp outing goes for naught in loss

SEATTLE -- José Iglesias is quickly becoming a thorn in the Mariners' side as the Tigers shortstop delivered a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth inning Thursday in Detroit's 3-2 win in the series opener at Safeco Field.
Iglesias had the walk-off single off Juan Nicasio in the Tigers' 5-4 victory Sunday at Comerica Park and he made the Mariners pay again four days later with a bases-loaded single that glanced off the glove of diving shortstop Jean Segura as Detroit rallied from a 2-1 deficit against reliever Nick Vincent.
Manager Scott Servais is searching for an eighth-inning setup man with Nicasio struggling and Vincent not able to bridge the gap to closer Edwin Díaz either as he gave up his first runs in his last nine outings on Iglesias' squib shot up the middle.
"It was a good pitch," Servais said. "Iglesias covers the ball out away from him. He got it on the ground, broken bat, he just got it in the right spot."
The Tigers (20-23) are 3-1 against Seattle, which dropped to 24-19 and is three back of front-running Houston in the American League West.

Marco Gonzales allowed just an unearned run on five hits over 5 2/3 innings in one of his best outings of the year and was in position for the win until Detroit rallied in the eighth. The 26-year-old would have gotten through six innings with a 2-0 lead, but a throwing error by Kyle Seager allowed the run to score and ended Gonzales' night at 97 pitches.
Gonzales stranded runners in scoring position in three of the first five innings and bounced back strongly after allowing 10 hits and four runs in a 4-3 loss to the Tigers last Saturday.
"The thing I've been working on this year is to just pitch through traffic and remain confident in those situations," Gonzales said. "Timely ground balls, double plays, these are things that are huge for me."
The Mariners scored twice off Tigers starter Matthew Boyd, both runs coming after leadoff doubles in the second and third by Seager and Segura. Guillermo Heredia singled home Seager and Mitch Haniger plated Segura with a base hit the following inning for a 2-0 lead.

Heredia will take over center-field duties on an everyday basis now with Dee Gordon moving to second base on Friday to replace the suspended Robinson Canó. Heredia went 3-for-4 with an RBI to hike his average to .296.
But with Cano out and designated hitter Nelson Cruz sidelined for a second straight day with a bruised foot, the Mariners have totaled just three runs in those two games.
"We are struggling right now to string much together offensively," Servais said. "Heredia had a really nice game tonight. But the at-bats up and down the lineup, Boyd was mixing in a lot of offspeed. We knew that going into the game and we just didn't make good adjustments on him."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Welcome back to the big leagues, Ryan Cook. The former A's All-Star reliever made his first Major League appearance since 2015 in the sixth inning, replacing Gonzales with runners at second and third and two out after Seager's error. And Cook responded by striking out Iglesias on a 96 mph fastball to preserve the 2-1 lead, then retired the side in order in the seventh on 11 pitches. After dealing with a handful of injuries in the past two years, Cook is healthy now and could be a big boost to the Mariners' bullpen.

"Really bright sign for us," Servais said. "Ryan Cook threw the ball outstanding. Happy for him, happy for us. He'll play a big part in our bullpen going forward."
SOUND SMART
The Tigers snapped a seven-game losing streak at Safeco Field, dating back to Aug. 8, 2016. That was the longest active home streak the Mariners had going against any team. Tops on that list now is the Rays, who've lost six in a row at Safeco.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Left fielder Ben Gamel made a nice running catch in the left-center gap to deny Nick Castellanos leading off the eighth against Vincent. The play was rated a 3-Star catch by Statcast™, with just a 58 percent catch probability as Gamel covered 87 feet in 4.9 seconds.

HE SAID IT
"It was just fun to get back out there in a situation where I felt I could contribute. I don't want to downplay it. It really did mean a lot to me. I really enjoyed it and hopefully I can continue to do it and help as much as I can." -- Cook, on making his first Major League appearance in 973 days
UP NEXT
Félix Hernández (5-3, 5.66 ERA) makes his second straight start against Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer (1-3, 4.37) in Friday's 7:10 p.m. PT contest at Safeco Field. Hernandez gave up eight hits and five runs in five innings last Saturday at Comerica Park, but got the win in a 9-5 victory. He's 10-4 with a 3.09 ERA in 17 career starts vs. Detroit.