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GAME LOG
DETROIT (AP) -- Baseball is once again fun for the Detroit
Tigers, and Bobby Higginson
in particular.
|  | | Bobby Higginson (4) slides safely past Reds catcher Eddie Taubensee to score in fourth inning. |
Higginson was 3-for-4 with a homer and Juan Encarnacion hit two
RBI doubles as the Tigers beat Cincinnati 6-2 Sunday, snapping the
Reds' three-game winning streak.
The Tigers, 3-1 since the All-Star break, have won 12 of their
last 17. It's the closest they've been to .500 (41-47) since they
were 4-10 en route to a 5-17 start.
"It's a lot more fun coming to the ballpark now," Higginson
said. "There was a time you dreaded it, but now we feel like we
have a chance to win every game. It's an entirely different feeling
we haven't had in a long time."
Higginson, who hit a leadoff double to start a four-run fourth
that put the Tigers ahead for good, is batting .462 (13-for-27)
during a six-game hitting streak. After hitting in the low .200's
early in the season, he's now batting .298, leads the team with 56
RBI and shares the team homer lead with Dean Palmer at 18.
"He's playing good," Tigers manager Phil Garner said. "He's
playing outstanding ball in all aspects."
The Tigers are winning mostly without sluggers Tony Clark or
Juan Gonzalez. Clark went on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with
recurring back spasms, and Gonzalez has missed nine of 10 games
with left ankle tendinitis.
Clark's replacement, utility infielder Shane Halter, hit a
two-run double before a record Comerica Park crowd of 40,637. The
previous record was 39,586 for a June 29 game against the New York
Yankees.
The Reds, who averaged better than 10 runs a game in a
three-game sweep at Colorado, stranded 12 runners -- eight in
scoring position.
"We had plenty of opportunities. We just couldn't cash in,"
Reds manager Jack McKeon said. "We didn't have any big hits like
we had in Colorado."
The key to the game came when the Reds, trailing 6-2, knocked
out Tigers starter Jeff Weaver by loading the bases with one out in
the sixth. C.J. Nitkowski relieved and got out of the jam by
striking out Ken Griffey Jr. before Dante Bichette grounded out.
"The turning point was C.J. When C.J. got out of the jam it
kept momentum on our side," Garner said.
Nitkowski, the Tigers' only left-hander, said he knew he'd face
Griffey.
"I felt confident that if I got two strikes on him I could get
him," Nitkowski said. "There wasn't much room for error there."
Griffey was 0-for-5, although he did drive in a run with a
groundout that gave the Reds a short-lived 1-0 lead in the third.
"The one thing we didn't do that we've been doing is get big
hits," Griffey said.
Nitkowski, Matt Anderson and Doug Brocail combined to throw 3
2-3 innings of one-hit, shutout relief.
"When you turn it over to our bullpen you feel pretty
confident," Weaver said. "C.J. went in and was aggressive and did
a great job on (Griffey) and put him away."
Weaver (6-7) won for the third time in four decisions despite
giving up nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs, struck
out two and walked three. He also stranded eight runners.
"Weaver did a good job. He made the pitches when he had to,"
McKeon said. "We had a number of early chances to break it open
and we didn't. Give some credit to Weaver for that."
Steve Parris (5-12), who won three of his four previous
decisions, gave up six runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.
"I was a little bit wild. I was up in the zone and just
couldn't get it down," Parris said. "Every day is different.
Today I didn't have it. It just wasn't a good day for me or the
team, for that matter."
Higginson doubled to start the four-run fourth. Deivi Cruz hit
an RBI single and Encarnacion a run-scoring double before Halter's
two-run double.
Chris Stynes doubled and scored on Barry Larkin's single in the
fifth. The Reds then loaded the bases with two outs before Weaver
struck out Michael Tucker.
Parris left after Higginson's solo homer and a double by Cruz in
the fifth. Encarnacion greeted Adam Larkin with an RBI double that
made it 6-2.
Game
notes
Stynes, 2-for-4 Sunday, is 21-for-35 (.600) in eight starts
since replacing the injured Aaron Boone at third base. ... Detroit
filled Clark's roster spot by recalling 1B Eric Munson from
Double-A Jacksonville. Munson, the Tigers' top choice in the 1999
amateur draft, was batting .266 with 12 homers and 57 RBI at
Jacksonville. ... The Reds homered in 12 straight games before
Sunday. ... Brocail survived his own two-base throwing error in the
ninth, his first error in 293 appearances since 1994.
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Baseball Scoreboard
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Detroit Clubhouse
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