Tigers break out of offensive slump with 13-1 victory over Twins
DETROIT -- The Tigers' offense is officially off of life support.
Miguel Cabrera said after Wednesday night's 6-2 loss that he and his teammates had actually been hitting the ball well, just right at people, and they did not need to change anything.
Cabrera certainly was right as the Tigers put up a 13-run, 20-hit attack in a 13-1 series-clinching victory over the Minnesota Twins Thursday afternoon.
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he has seen the improvement in his players' approaches when they have two strikes.
"As opposed to waving at balls, their focus has been a little bit higher, they're picking up the ball, they're tracking it, they're letting the ball get deeper and they're fighting," Ausmus said. "They're fighting off pitches that maybe they can't square up and hoping that a mistake is made on the next pitch. They've done a better job in the last few games of not giving away that third strike."
Cabrera had a pair of two-run home runs and an RBI single for his third multi-home run game of the season and 33rd of his career.
Cabrera is just two home runs shy of 400 and one shy of tying Andres Galarraga for the major league home run record for Venezuelan players.
"I don't play this game to be better than somebody or pass somebody in home runs," Cabrera said. "I play this game for passion, for love, and that's the way I play. Hopefully it can be a home run to win the game."
Cabrera's passion for hitting was contagious.
Anthony Gose had a career-high four-hit game, including hitting back-to-back triples with Ian Kinsler in the seventh.
Kinsler was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.
"When you're hitting the ball hard and it happens to go to people, you think you need to change something," Kinsler said. "We really didn't have to change anything, we just need to make sure that we stay aggressive, stay ready to hit, and things will start working out for us.
J.D. Martinez had two hits and a run scored, despite still not being 100 percent recovered from the low-back tightness that forced him out of Wednesday's game.
Nick Castellanos also hit a home run, plus had a single and two walks.
Rajai Davis had three hits, including an RBI double, and a run scored.
The biggest surprise was probably catcher Bryan Holaday, playing in his first game of the season, hitting a two-run home run, an RBI double and a single.
"I don't know that I would have expected Doc to hit a homer," Ausmus said. "I don't think I've ever seen him hit a homer in a regular season game before. He did today and he had a big double too."
Castellanos said when you're hitting the ball hard and don't have anything to show for it, the challenge is often a mental one.
"As professional baseball players, we're all about the process and the mentality," Castellanos said. "If your process is right and your mentality is right and you have a good at-bat but you don't get the result, as an athlete you walk away happy with that."
But every player had to admit that scoring 13 runs in one game after scoring 13 total in the previous five games combined felt good.
"Anytime you win like that and the whole team joins the party, it's a great win," Holaday said.
