GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: DETROIT (66-53) at OAKLAND (58-62)

AL: DETROIT at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">DETROIT (6) VS OAKLAND (1) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS

DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Granderson cf 5 3 4 2 0 1 1 .299
P Polanco 2b 5 1 3 1 0 0 1 .343
R Raburn 3b 4 0 1 1 0 1 3 .320
B Inge 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
M Ordonez dh 4 0 1 1 1 0 0 .357
C Guillen ss-1b 3 0 0 1 1 1 3 .301
I Rodriguez c 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 .274
S Casey 1b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .283
R Santiago pr-ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .300
C Maybin lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .176
T Perez rf 4 2 3 0 0 0 0 .375

Totals 38 6 13 6 2 7 14

BATTING: 2B - M Ordonez (44, D Haren); R Raburn (9, D Haren); S Casey (28, D
Haren); C Granderson (35, D Haren). HR - C Granderson (19, 3rd inning off D
Haren 0 on, 0 Out). SF - C Guillen. RBI - M Ordonez (120), C Granderson 2 (67),
R Raburn (19), P Polanco (57), C Guillen (91). 2-out RBI - M Ordonez, C
Granderson. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - I Rodriguez 3, C Maybin
1. GIDP - R Raburn. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - T Perez (1, 2nd base off A Brown/K Suzuki).


OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Stewart lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .285
N Swisher cf 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 .264
J Cust rf 4 0 0 0 0 4 5 .269
M Piazza dh 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .278
D Johnson 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .232
M Ellis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .262
J Hannahan 3b 2 0 0 0 2 2 1 .259
M Scutaro ss 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 .257
K Suzuki c 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .254

Totals 31 1 7 1 3 12 11

BATTING: 2B - N Swisher (30, J Verlander). HR - M Piazza (6, 4th inning off J
Verlander 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - M Piazza (35). Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - M Scutaro 1, J Cust 3, J Hannahan 1. Team LOB - 9.

FIELDING: PB - K Suzuki. DP: 1 (M Scutaro-M Ellis-D Johnson).


----------------------------------------------------
DETROIT - 102 000 210 -- 6
OAKLAND - 000 100 00 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
J Verlander 6 2/3 6 1 1 3 10 1 3.67
B Seay 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.72
Z Miner 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.21

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
D Haren 6 11 5 5 1 4 1 2.87
S Casilla 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 4.12
A Brown 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 4.34
R Lugo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.34

D Haren pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

WP - S Casilla. IBB - M Ordonez (by S Casilla). Pitches-strikes: J Verlander
128-85; B Seay 5-3; Z Miner 24-13; D Haren 106-71; S Casilla 20-10; A Brown
10-9; R Lugo 11-7. Ground balls-fly balls: J Verlander 5-5; B Seay 0-0; Z Miner
1-1; D Haren 11-3; S Casilla 0-1; A Brown 1-1; R Lugo 1-2. Batters faced: J
Verlander 29; B Seay 1; Z Miner 4; D Haren 29; S Casilla 4; A Brown 5; R Lugo
3.

UMPIRES: HP--Gary Darling. 1B--Larry Poncino. 2B--Bruce Dreckman. 3B--Jerry
Meals.

Weather: 70 degrees, sunny. Wind: 5 mph, out to right.</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - PITCHING CHANGE
DET: TODD JONES (1-4, 4.47) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 6, OAKLAND 1

DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: M SCUTARO (.257, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: T Jones relieved Z Miner.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 6
OAKLAND 1 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: M Scutaro (.257, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 6 13 0
OAKLAND 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: DET - JUSTIN VERLANDER, BOBBY SEAY (7TH), ZACH MINER (8TH), TODD
JONES (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

OAK - DAN HAREN, SANTIAGO CASILLA (7TH), ANDREW BROWN
(8TH), RUDDY LUGO (9TH) AND KURT SUZUKI

HOME RUNS: DET - CURTIS GRANDERSON (19) OFF DAN HAREN IN THE 3RD, 0 ON

OAK - MIKE PIAZZA (6) OFF JUSTIN VERLANDER IN THE 4TH, 0 ON</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 6 13 0
OAKLAND 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: DET - JUSTIN VERLANDER, BOBBY SEAY (7TH), ZACH MINER (8TH), TODD
JONES (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

OAK - DAN HAREN, SANTIAGO CASILLA (7TH), ANDREW BROWN
(8TH), RUDDY LUGO (9TH) AND KURT SUZUKI


WP - JUSTIN VERLANDER (15-5)
LP - DAN HAREN (14-6)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: DET - CURTIS GRANDERSON (19) OFF DAN HAREN IN THE 3RD, 0 ON

OAK - MIKE PIAZZA (6) OFF JUSTIN VERLANDER IN THE 4TH, 0 ON


TIME: 3:07 ATT: 21,336

PROBABLES: DET - NATE ROBERTSON (7-11, 5.04)
OAK - DALLAS BRADEN (1-7, 6.32)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">DETROIT (6) VS OAKLAND (1) - FINAL

DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Granderson cf 5 3 4 2 0 1 1 .299
P Polanco 2b 5 1 3 1 0 0 1 .343
R Raburn 3b 4 0 1 1 0 1 3 .320
B Inge 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
M Ordonez dh 4 0 1 1 1 0 0 .357
C Guillen ss-1b 3 0 0 1 1 1 3 .301
I Rodriguez c 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 .274
S Casey 1b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .283
R Santiago pr-ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .300
C Maybin lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .176
T Perez rf 4 2 3 0 0 0 0 .375

Totals 38 6 13 6 2 7 14

BATTING: 2B - M Ordonez (44, D Haren); R Raburn (9, D Haren); S Casey (28, D
Haren); C Granderson (35, D Haren). HR - C Granderson (19, 3rd inning off D
Haren 0 on, 0 Out). SF - C Guillen. RBI - M Ordonez (120), C Granderson 2 (67),
R Raburn (19), P Polanco (57), C Guillen (91). 2-out RBI - M Ordonez, C
Granderson. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - I Rodriguez 3, C Maybin
1. GIDP - R Raburn. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - T Perez (1, 2nd base off A Brown/K Suzuki).


OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Stewart lf 5 0 2 0 0 0 1 .284
N Swisher cf 4 0 1 0 1 1 2 .263
J Cust rf 4 0 0 0 0 4 5 .269
M Piazza dh 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .278
D Johnson 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .232
M Ellis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .262
J Hannahan 3b 2 0 0 0 2 2 1 .259
M Scutaro ss 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 .256
K Suzuki c 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 .259

Totals 35 1 8 1 3 12 13

BATTING: 2B - N Swisher (30, J Verlander); K Suzuki (10, T Jones). HR - M
Piazza (6, 4th inning off J Verlander 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - M Piazza (35).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Scutaro 1, J Cust 3, J Hannahan 1,
N Swisher 1. Team LOB - 10.

FIELDING: PB - K Suzuki. DP: 1 (M Scutaro-M Ellis-D Johnson).


----------------------------------------------------
DETROIT - 102 000 210 -- 6
OAKLAND - 000 100 000 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
J Verlander (W, 15-5) 6 2/3 6 1 1 3 10 1 3.67
B Seay (H, 11) 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.72
Z Miner 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.21
T Jones 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.39

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
D Haren (L, 14-6) 6 11 5 5 1 4 1 2.87
S Casilla 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 4.12
A Brown 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 4.34
R Lugo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.34

D Haren pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

WP - S Casilla. IBB - M Ordonez (by S Casilla). Pitches-strikes: J Verlander
128-85; B Seay 5-3; Z Miner 24-13; T Jones 13-10; D Haren 106-71; S Casilla
20-10; A Brown 10-9; R Lugo 11-7. Ground balls-fly balls: J Verlander 5-5; B
Seay 0-0; Z Miner 1-1; T Jones 3-0; D Haren 11-3; S Casilla 0-1; A Brown 1-1; R
Lugo 1-2. Batters faced: J Verlander 29; B Seay 1; Z Miner 4; T Jones 4; D
Haren 29; S Casilla 4; A Brown 5; R Lugo 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Gary Darling. 1B--Larry Poncino. 2B--Bruce Dreckman. 3B--Jerry
Meals.

T--3:07. Att--21,336.
Weather: 70 degrees, sunny. Wind: 5 mph, out to
right.</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
DETROIT 6
OAKLAND 1 FINAL</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DETROIT (6) AT OAKLAND (1) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DETROIT 1ST: C Granderson singled to center. P Polanco singled to left,
C Granderson to second. R Raburn grounded into double play, shortstop to second
to first, P Polanco out at second, C Granderson to third. M Ordonez doubled to
deep center, C Granderson scored. M Ordonez to third on passed ball by
K Suzuki. C Guillen walked. I Rodriguez flied out to center. (1 Run, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 1, OAKLAND 0.

DETROIT 3RD: C Granderson homered to right. P Polanco singled to center.
R Raburn doubled to left, P Polanco scored. M Ordonez grounded out to second,
R Raburn to third. C Guillen struck out swinging. I Rodriguez grounded out to
third. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 4TH: M Piazza homered to center. D Johnson fouled out to second.
M Ellis flied out to left. J Hannahan walked. M Scutaro struck out looking.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, OAKLAND 1.

DETROIT 7TH: T Perez singled to right center. C Granderson doubled to
right, T Perez to third. P Polanco singled to left center, T Perez scored,
C Granderson to third. S Casilla relieved D Haren. P Polanco to second on wild
pitch by S Casilla. R Raburn struck out swinging. M Ordonez intentionally
walked. C Guillen hit sacrifice fly to left, C Granderson scored. I Rodriguez
struck out looking. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 5, OAKLAND 1.

DETROIT 8TH: A Brown relieved S Casilla. R Santiago struck out swinging.
C Maybin flied out to center. T Perez singled to left. T Perez stole second.
C Granderson singled to right, T Perez scored. P Polanco grounded into fielder's
choice to shortstop, C Granderson out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 6, OAKLAND 1.</div>

 

Verlander, Granderson lead Tigers past A's

<h3>DETROIT 6, OAKLAND 1</h3>By Tom Kent
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Justin Verlander took the finalround off Dan Haren.


Verlander (15-5) tossed 6 2/3 quality innings en route to his15th victory of the season and Curtis Granderson homered whilecollecting four hits as the Detroit Tigers posted a 6-1 triumphover the Oakland Athletics Saturday.


Verlander had faced the Athletics and fellow American LeagueAll-Star Haren twice previously this season. The righthanderyielded four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings whilesuffering the loss in the Tigers 7-3 loss in Oakland on July 31,and allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings whileearning the victory in Detroit's 5-2 win at home on August 8.

In the rubber match against Haren on Saturday, the 24-year-oldVerlander was stellar, surrendering just one run whilescattering six hits and walking three.


The victory was Verlander's first in Oakland after posting an0-2 record with a 3.26 ERA in four previous starts at McAfeeColiseum.


Haren (14-6), who was looking to notch his 15th win of theseason, labored through six innings, surrendering four runs and11 hits. The righthander threw 71 of his 108 pitches forstrikes.


Detroit opened the scoring early off Haren when Granderson andPlacido Polanco singled to lead off the game. After rookie RyanRaburn grounded into a double play, Magglio Ordonez, who ledthe majors with 31 RBI in August, belted a run-scoring double toleft-center field for a 1-0 edge.


Granderson drove a Haren 2-2 offering over the right-center wallin the third for his 19th home run of the season and a 2-0advantage.


After Verlander walked Nick Swisher to load the bases with twoouts in the seventh, Tigers' reliever Bobby Seay struck out JackCust to end the threat.


Zach Miner and Todd Jones each pitched a scoreless inning forDetroit to finish off the game.


Polanco contributed three hits and drove in a run for the Tigers(73-63), who moved within five games behind the ClevelandIndians (77-57)in the American League Central Division. TheIndians are hosting the Chicago White Sox.


Mike Piazza belted a solo home run in the fourth - his sixth -for Oakland, which took the first of the three-game set offDetroit in extra innings, 5-4, on Friday.

 

AL: DETROIT at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DETROIT (6) AT OAKLAND (1) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Detroit Starting Lineups -- C Granderson CF, P Polanco 2B, R Raburn 3B, M
Ordonez DH, C Guillen SS, I Rodriguez C, S Casey 1B, C Maybin LF, T Perez RF,
J Verlander RHP.

Oakland Starting Lineups -- S Stewart LF, N Swisher CF, J Cust RF, M Piazza DH,
D Johnson 1B, M Ellis 2B, J Hannahan 3B, M Scutaro SS, K Suzuki C, D Haren RHP.

Umpires -- Gary Darling (HP), Larry Poncino (1B), Bruce Dreckman (2B),
Jerry Meals (3B).

Gametime Weather: 70 degrees, Sunny, wind out to right at 5 mph.


DETROIT 1ST: C Granderson singled to center. P Polanco singled to left,
C Granderson to second. R Raburn grounded into double play, shortstop to second
to first, P Polanco out at second, C Granderson to third. M Ordonez doubled to
deep center, C Granderson scored. M Ordonez to third on passed ball by K
Suzuki. C Guillen walked. I Rodriguez flied out to center. (1 Run, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 1, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 1ST: S Stewart popped out to second. N Swisher flied out to left.
J Cust struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1, OAKLAND 0.

DETROIT 2ND: S Casey grounded out to second. C Maybin grounded out to
first. T Perez grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1,
OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 2ND: M Piazza flied out to right. D Johnson struck out looking.
M Ellis singled to center. J Hannahan walked, M Ellis to second. M Scutaro
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1, OAKLAND 0.

DETROIT 3RD: C Granderson homered to right. P Polanco singled to center.
R Raburn doubled to left, P Polanco scored. M Ordonez grounded out to second,
R Raburn to third. C Guillen struck out swinging. I Rodriguez grounded out to
third. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 3RD: K Suzuki bunt grounded out to pitcher. S Stewart grounded out
to shortstop. N Swisher doubled to deep right center. J Cust struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, OAKLAND 0.

DETROIT 4TH: S Casey grounded out to second. C Maybin struck out swinging.
T Perez singled to right. C Granderson struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) DETROIT 3, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 4TH: M Piazza homered to center. D Johnson fouled out to second.
M Ellis flied out to left. J Hannahan walked. M Scutaro struck out looking.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, OAKLAND 1.

DETROIT 5TH: P Polanco grounded out to first. R Raburn grounded out to
first. M Ordonez lined out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3,
OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 5TH: K Suzuki struck out looking. S Stewart reached on infield
single to shortstop. N Swisher struck out swinging. J Cust struck out
looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, OAKLAND 1.

DETROIT 6TH: C Guillen flied out to center. I Rodriguez grounded out to
third. S Casey doubled to right. R Santiago ran for S Casey. C Maybin struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 6TH: C Guillen at first base. R Santiago at shortstop. M Piazza
grounded out to third. D Johnson grounded out to first. M Ellis grounded out
to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, OAKLAND 1.

DETROIT 7TH: T Perez singled to right center. C Granderson doubled to
right, T Perez to third. P Polanco singled to left center, T Perez scored,
C Granderson to third. S Casilla relieved D Haren. P Polanco to second on wild
pitch by S Casilla. R Raburn struck out swinging. M Ordonez intentionally
walked. C Guillen hit sacrifice fly to left, C Granderson scored. I Rodriguez
struck out looking. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 5, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 7TH: B Inge at third base. J Hannahan struck out looking.
M Scutaro struck out swinging. K Suzuki singled to center. S Stewart singled to
right, K Suzuki to third. N Swisher walked, S Stewart to second. B Seay
relieved J Verlander. J Cust struck out looking. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 5, OAKLAND 1.

DETROIT 8TH: A Brown relieved S Casilla. R Santiago struck out swinging.
C Maybin flied out to center. T Perez singled to left. T Perez stole second.
C Granderson singled to right, T Perez scored. P Polanco grounded into fielder's
choice to shortstop, C Granderson out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 6, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 8TH: Z Miner relieved B Seay. M Piazza singled to left. D Johnson
flied out to left. M Ellis grounded out to second, M Piazza to second.
J Hannahan struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 6, OAKLAND 1.

DETROIT 9TH: R Lugo relieved A Brown. B Inge flied out to right. M Ordonez
grounded out to shortstop. C Guillen flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 6, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 9TH: T Jones relieved Z Miner. M Scutaro grounded out to second.
K Suzuki doubled to left. S Stewart grounded out to third. N Swisher grounded
out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 6, OAKLAND 1.</div>

 

Verlander, Granderson lead Tigers past A's

<h3>DETROIT 6, OAKLAND 1</h3>By Tom Kent
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer




OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Justin Verlander took the finalround off Dan Haren.


Verlander (15-5) tossed 6 2/3 quality innings en route to his15th victory of the season and Curtis Granderson homered whilecollecting four hits as the Detroit Tigers posted a 6-1 triumphover the Oakland Athletics Saturday.


Verlander had faced the Athletics and fellow American LeagueAll-Star Haren twice previously this season. The righthanderyielded four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings whilesuffering the loss in the Tigers 7-3 loss in Oakland on July 31,and allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings whileearning the victory in Detroit's 5-2 win at home on August 8.

In the rubber match against Haren on Saturday, the 24-year-oldVerlander was stellar, surrendering just one run whilescattering six hits and walking three.


"I don't want to put any added pressure on myself," Verlandersaid. "At the same time I don't mind being the guy who guys outthere when we need a stop or a win, or whatever it might be.That's not going to change my game plan though. I'm going to goout there and do what I've been doing all year."


"I've had him all three times and that's hard to do," Harensaid. "He got me twice and I got him once."


The victory was Verlander's first in Oakland after posting an0-2 record with a 3.26 ERA in four previous starts at McAfeeColiseum.


"I thought today was some of the best stuff he's had all year,"Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "His fastball, curve,everything was working.


"He's making a lot of progress, and he's still going to have hismoments. He's 24-year's old. He's a tremendous talent. He'sone of the best young talents in the big league's - no questionabout it."


Haren (14-6), who was looking to notch his 15th win of theseason, labored through six innings, surrendering four runs and11 hits. The righthander threw 71 of his 108 pitches forstrikes.


"I put us in the hole early, then pitched well enough to get usback in the game," Haren said. "Then I let it unravel at theend. I'm frustrated."


"(Haren) threw the ball well," Athletics manager Bob Geren said."I thought he pitched well enough to win. Verlander justpitched a little better."


Detroit opened the scoring early off Haren when Granderson andPlacido Polanco singled to lead off the game. After rookie RyanRaburn grounded into a double play, Magglio Ordonez, who ledthe majors with 31 RBI in August, belted a run-scoring double toleft-center field for a 1-0 edge.


Granderson drove a Haren 2-2 offering over the right-center wallin the third for his 19th home run of the season and a 2-0advantage.


"I understand that he has a great split and a great slider,"Granderson said. "Hopefully if you can get him to get up someyou have a chance and that's what happened today. If he doeskeep it down, which he did most of the game, you don't have achance. That's why he is that good."


After Verlander walked Nick Swisher to load the bases with twoouts in the seventh, Tigers' reliever Bobby Seay struck out JackCust to end the threat.


Zach Miner and Todd Jones each pitched a scoreless inning forDetroit to finish off the game.


Polanco contributed three hits and drove in a run for the Tigers(73-63), who moved within five games behind the ClevelandIndians (77-57)in the American League Central Division. TheIndians are hosting the Chicago White Sox.


Mike Piazza belted a solo home run in the fourth - his sixth -for Oakland, which took the first of the three-game set offDetroit in extra innings, 5-4, on Friday.