2-HR game from Miggy powers win for Zimm

April 26th, 2016

DETROIT -- Jordan Zimmermann allowed his first run as a Tiger, but Miguel Cabrera's two-homer, four-hit game more than made up for it, ending Detroit's four-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over the A's on Monday night at Comerica Park.
Cabrera broke out of an 0-for-13 slump with a first-inning solo homer to right off Oakland starter Kendall Graveman. He hit one to nearly the same spot in the fifth inning for a three-run shot to break the game open, followed by a Victor Martinez homer.
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Zimmermann (4-0) stretched his scoreless streak to 24 1/3 innings, the longest ever by a Tiger to start the season and the longest by a pitcher to start his Tigers tenure, before Tyler Collins lost a fly ball in the lights in the sixth inning for a leadoff double, with Marcus Semien advancing to third on an error by Justin Upton on the play, that set up a Billy Burns RBI single. Yonder Alonso added an RBI double in the seventh, followed by a Mark Canha pinch-hit RBI single.
"I had a good little stretch going," Zimmermann said. "Unfortunately it ended tonight. Hopefully I can start a new one."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Cabrera's April doldrums end: Cabrera entered the day with a .206 average and one home run on the season, and was coming off a rare day out of the starting lineup to clear his head. He raised his average 48 points by the end of the evening, hitting a pair of familiar opposite-field lofts to nearly the same spot in the right-field corner. More >
"What I saw in the two home runs today that had been kind of missing recently was the carry past the wall, as opposed to kind of getting out there and dying," manager Brad Ausmus said. "I think he was coming across the ball a little bit and now he's through the ball, and that's where you get that push even farther."

Graveman buried in the fifth: Graveman opened the fifth inning with a strikeout, but back-to-back singles were followed by back-to-back home runs by Cabrera and Martinez to push the Tigers' lead to 6-0. After a groundout, single and a walk, Graveman was pulled. More >
"We were trying to get a ground ball somewhere to get a double play, and that's my game," Graveman said. "A ground ball through the hole, I've got to find a way with runners on first and second to make a pitch. Then stay focused. Martinez hit a good changeup away right after [Cabrera's homer]. I didn't feel like I was scuffling too bad. I thought I made some pretty good pitches. They did a good job hitting the ball, even some balls off the plate."

Zimmermann helps his cause: After Zimmermann lost his streak in the sixth, the pitcher prevented further damage with a highlight grab on a hard-hit comebacker from Stephen Vogt, stranding runners at the corners to end the inning.

QUOTABLE
"I was talking to him when I got on first base tonight, asked him how he felt. He said he felt like [garbage] up to tonight. I told him he's Miguel Cabrera and he'll be just fine. Then I got on a second time and said, 'I told you you'd be alright.'" -- Josh Reddick, on Cabrera
"Miggy gets all the credit, with the exception of him using my old bat in batting practice. He's still got it. When someone gets in a slump, maybe he'll pass it on to the next player." -- Ausmus, on Cabrera breaking out of a slump
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Zimmermann's season-opening scoreless streak was the eighth-longest by a Major League pitcher in the expansion era, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Former A's reliever Brad Ziegler holds the record with 39 consecutive scoreless innings to open the 2008 season.
INJURY REPORT
Ian Kinsler was a late scratch from the Tigers' lineup with flu-like symptoms. Mike Aviles started in his place at second base and had an RBI single in the second inning, while Jose Iglesias took over in the leadoff spot.
"Kins was a little bit dizzy, light-headed when he got up in the morning," Ausmus said. "He got better progressively during the day. When he started swinging in the batting cage, it reaggravated it a little bit. I think he should be fine tomorrow, but Aviles stepped in, got a couple hits, a big RBI, and made some nice plays at second."

WHAT'S NEXT
Athletics:Rich Hill will look to rack up more strikeouts in Tuesday's game against the Tigers, with game time set for 4:10 p.m. PT. Hill has 29 K's in 19 innings this year, and he fanned 10 Yankees in his last start.
Tigers:Mike Pelfrey, who called his struggles "terrible" after his third consecutive loss in his last start, tries to take a sharpened sinker into his outing Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. ET.
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