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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
DETROIT (AP) -- The fans were swarmed over by clouds of flying
insects. The Seattle Mariners didn't do any better.
"I thought we were going to get bugged out in the first,"
Seattle starter Paul Abbott said Wednesday night after the
Mariners' 6-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers. "It was amazing. A
stampede from bugs."
Juan Encarnacion hit a two-run triple in a five-run seventh
inning as Detroit rallied and sent Seattle to its ninth loss in 10
games.
Swarms of flying insects caused fans to flee their seats early
in the game. Fans began running up the aisles as Seattle's Edgar
Martinez batted in the first inning, swatting at the insects as
they moved.
Those who remained in their seats were constantly swatting at
the bugs on themselves or others.
"I couldn't believe the crowd," said Abbott, who pitched 6 1/3
solid innings before the Mariners' bullpen wilted.
Pitchers in the Tigers' bullpen started a small fire trying to
ward off the attack. The game was never delayed, and fans returned
to their seats as play progressed.
"It wasn't as bad on the field as it was on the perimeter,"
Tigers manager Phil Garner said.
There was no immediate word on what caused the swarm.
"I put some Off (insect repellent) on," Bobby Higginson said.
"They should call that stuff 'On' because they liked that stuff
even more. It was brutal. I just hope it doesn't happen again."
Martinez hit his career-high 30th home run and Mike Cameron also
homered for Seattle, whose AL West lead remained at 3½ games when
Oakland lost at Cleveland.
The Tigers, who moved back within a game of .500, stayed 5½ behind Cleveland in the wild-card race.
"It was a beautiful game from our standpoint," Garner said.
"We had an inning where everything went our way."
Detroit trailed 4-1 before batting around in the seventh,
getting five straight hits.
Arthur Rhodes (3-7) gave up four consecutive hits after
relieving Abbott, who allowed a leadoff double to Deivi Cruz. Jose
Macias had an RBI single, Wendell Magee a pinch single, Encarnacion
tripled to the right-field corner and Higginson hit a run-scoring
single.
"We got in their bullpen and did a great job," Higginson said.
"We kept fighting and battling and making things happen."
Juan Gonzalez greeted Jose Mesa with an RBI single before Dean
Palmer's sacrifice fly gave Detroit a 6-4 lead.
All of the Tigers' hits went the opposite way.
"It was a beautiful job," Garner said. "That showed the mark
of good discipline."
Most of the hits were on two-strike counts.
"I was ahead. They were just finding a hole," Rhodes said. "I
didn't throw too many breaking balls. You can't be frustrated. I've
been throwing the ball well all year.
Nelson Cruz (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing Cameron's solo
homer in the eighth.
Todd Jones pitched the ninth for his AL-leading 36th save in 38
tries. He got Rickey Henderson, who was 3-for-5, to hit into a
game-ending double play.
Abbott gave up two runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings.
"It's probably the heaviest right-handed lineup we usually
see," Abbott said. "My best pitch is a changeup. I threw one to
right-handers. I was just mixing it up, keeping them off balance
and moving the ball in and out."
Tigers starter Hideo Nomo left trailing 4-1 after allowing eight
hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 6 1/3 innings.
Back-to-back two-out doubles from Carlos Guillen and Dan Wilson
gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the second.
Alex Rodriguez hit an RBI double in the third but was out trying
to steal third. That cost the Mariners a run when Martinez followed
with a long solo homer.
Detroit broke through in the sixth when Billy McMillon hit a
leadoff double and scored on Encarnacion's single.
Wilson doubled, moved up on Henderson's single and scored
on John Olerud's ground out to make it 4-1 in the seventh.
Game notes
Martinez had 29 homers with the Mariners in both 1995 and
'98. ... Abbott was 0-2 with a 16.50 ERA in two previous career
appearances against Detroit. ... The Tigers haven't lost two
straight since Aug. 6-7 against Minnesota and Baltimore. ... Rhodes
hasn't retired a batter in either of the first two games in
Detroit. He walked Higginson, the only batter he faced, Tuesday.
... Wednesday's crowd of 32,356 pushed season attendance at
Comerica Park to 2,016,652.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Detroit Clubhouse
What's bugging Tigers fans? Swarms of insects at Comerica
RECAPS
Boston 3
Anaheim 1
Cleveland 7
Oakland 5
Detroit 6
Seattle 5
NY Yankees 10
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Kansas City 8
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