Carpenter homers twice to help Lorenzen and the Tigers beat the Mariners 6-0
By CAMERON VAN TIL
Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Kerry Carpenter homered twice, Michael Lorenzen allowed two hits in 6 2/3 innings and the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 6-0 on Saturday night.
Carpenter hit a solo homer in the second inning and a three-run shot in the fifth, giving him three homers in the past two games.
That was more than enough support for Lorenzen, who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. The 31-year-old righty struck out seven and worked around five walks in a 97-pitch performance.
“If we can continue to put good at-bats together, then we’re productive,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. “And (when) we get that kind of effort on the mound, it’s a fun one.”
Beau Brieske and Brendan White pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief to finish a combined three-hitter for the Tigers.
The three hits matched a season low for Seattle, which lost its second straight game after winning seven of nine heading into the All-Star break.
“We’re not swinging the bat,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “It’s as simple as that. You’ve got to have more competitive at-bats, and we just got nothing going tonight.”
It was the second consecutive scoreless outing for Lorenzen (4-6), who pitched five innings of three-hit ball against Oakland on July 6.
Lorenzen, a first-time All-Star, also pitched in the midseason showcase on Tuesday night in Seattle.
“He was very sharp tonight,” Detroit catcher Eric Haase said. “He made my job easy back there. He was landing a lot of secondary (pitches).
“He just did a really good job keeping them off-balance.”
The Tigers tagged Seattle starter George Kirby (8-8) for six runs and eight hits in five innings. Kirby, also a first-time All-Star, had allowed just eight earned runs over his previous five starts.
“Against a pitcher like Kirby, you go into the game knowing that runs are going to be at a premium,” Hinch said. “You know you have to earn it.”
Carpenter did most of the damage, driving in four runs with his 10th and 11th homers of the season.
The 25-year-old outfielder missed six weeks with a shoulder sprain earlier in the season. Since returning on June 9, he has batted .308 with seven homers in 29 games.
“I was pretty confident going into the break, even after kind of a tough (last) series,” Carpenter said. “I was confident with where my swing was.”
Detroit’s Zach McKinstry hit a ground-rule double with two outs in the third and scored on Riley Greene’s single for a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers broke open the game with four runs in the fifth. Haase doubled and scored on Spencer Torkelson’s single with two outs. Carpenter then hit a 431-foot shot to right-center field to make it 6-0.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: RHP Spencer Turnbull (neck discomfort) threw approximately 20 pitches of live batting practice on Saturday in Lakeland, Florida. Hinch said Turnbull reported no problems and will throw another session early next week. The 30-year-old has not pitched in a game since May 6.
UP NEXT
Detroit rookie RHP Reese Olson (1-2, 4.05 ERA) makes his sixth career start in Sunday’s series finale. He returns to the starting rotation after pitching out of the bullpen in his last two outings.
Seattle plans to activate rookie RHP Bryce Miller (5-3, 3.97) from the injured list for his first start since June 30 against Tampa Bay. He left that start in the fourth inning due to a blister on his right middle finger.
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