Major League Baseball
Detroit 7, San Diego 5
When: 4:40 PM ET, Sunday, June 25, 2017
Where: Petco Park, San Diego, California
Temperature: 75°
Umpires: Home - Bruce Dreckman, 1B - Mike Everitt, 2B - Bill Welke, 3B - Jordan Baker
Attendance: 29595

SAN DIEGO -- The Tigers were facing a long flight home to Detroit on Sunday afternoon as Mikie Mahtook approached the plate in the ninth inning with runners on second and third with two out and the score tied.

In the Tigers' dugout at Petco Park, manager Brad Ausmus discussed pinch-hitting switch hitter Andrew Romine against right-handed San Diego Padres closer Brandon Maurer.

"But Mahtook had been swinging the bat pretty well, and righties seem to have a little more luck against Maurer at times," Ausmus said. "So, we just kind of stuck with Mikie."

Good decision.

Mahtook went the opposite way with a Maurer fastball and grounded a two-run single to right to give the Tigers a 7-5 victory that snapped an eight-game losing streak and ended what had been an 0-6 trip to the West Coast on a happy note.

"It's a monkey off our back for sure," Ausmus said after the Tigers won for only the fourth time in their past 17 games. "There's no question when you get a win, it releases some pressure. It's just one game. We dug a hole on this road trip, and we need to dig ourselves out of it. We've got some ground to catch up. This is one step."

The Padres entered Sunday looking to sweep their third home series since the end of May and extend their winning streak to four games. Then they jumped out to leads of 3-0 and 5-3 before faltering.

"What hurt us was not cashing in on several other opportunities," Padres manager Andy Green said.

San Diego failed to get a runner home from third with no outs while leading 3-0 in the second and from second and third with one out while leading 5-3 in the fourth.

"We didn't hit in some runners-in-scoring-positions," Green said. "I also thought there were a few balls we could have come up with today that we didn't," referring most notably to Mahtook's triple to right center in the fourth that drove home Detroit's first run and led to a three-run inning. Two hitters later, James McCann lined a double just past the glove of third baseman Cory Spangenberg.

And then there is the question of Maurer, who is a Jekyll-and-Hyde late-inning reliever.

In save situations, he has converted 14 of 16 opportunities, although he has a 4.29 ERA. However, all seven of the runs he has allowed in save situations have come during his two blown saves. He has allowed only nine hits and two walks with 13 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings in save situations.

Non-save situations are a completely different matter. He is 0-3 with an 8.62 ERA. He has allowed 15 runs on 23 hits and five walks with 12 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings.

"When you look at the statistics, there is something to it," Green said. "But he's pitched remarkably well in save situations."

Maurer has converted nine straight save opportunities while allowing one hit and one walk over nine innings.

Ian Kinsler opened the ninth with a double off Maurer (0-4). Former Padre Justin Upton drew a one-out walk, and both runners advanced when J.D. Martinez was retired on a topped ball in front of the plate. Mahtook then singled past Padres second baseman Carlos Asuaje.

Right-hander Bruce Rondon (1-1) was credited with the win after pitching a scoreless eighth inning, and Justin Wilson earned his sixth save.

Neither starting pitcher was exceptionally sharp nor around for the decision.

Padres left-hander Clayton Richard couldn't hold a pair of multi-run leads, allowing five runs on nine hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Detroit right-hander Jordan Zimmermann allowed five runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in four innings.

"I knew going into the game this wasn't the best matchup for Clayton," Green said.

"The long ball kind of hurt Jordan," Ausmus said. "It was not as good a start as we've seen recently."

The Padres took a 3-0 lead in the first two innings, but the Tigers tied the score with three runs in the top of the fourth.

Wil Myers drove the first pitch he saw from Zimmermann 412 feet into the second deck in left field for his 15th homer to give the Padres a 1-0 lead in the first. Erick Aybar then opened the second with his sixth homer, a 389-foot drive to right.

The Padres added a second run in the inning before anyone was out when Hunter Renfroe singled, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on Matt Szczur's triple to right-center. With Szczur on third and no outs, the Padres had a golden opportunity to extend the lead, but Zimmermann struck out the next three hitters.

Upton opened the Tigers' fourth with his second double of the game. With one out, Mahtook tripled to right-center just beyond the dive of center fielder Szczur to score Upton. Mahtook scored on McCann's two-out double past the dive of Spangenberg. Jose Iglesias followed with a game-tying single with the pitcher's spot up next.

The Padres scored twice in the bottom of the inning, which opened with a single by Aybar and a walk by Renfroe. Aybar moved to third on a flyout to center and scored on a suicide squeeze by Richard -- the Padres' second successful suicide squeeze in as many games. Renfroe scored on a ground-rule double to left by Jose Pirela. But Zimmermann again ducked further damage, stranding two runners in scoring position with one out.

The Tigers again drew even in the top of the sixth when Nicholas Castellanos hit his ninth homer of the season following an inning-opening single by Martinez. Castellanos' opposite-field drive to right carried 395 feet.

NOTES: 1B Miguel Cabrera hit second in the Tigers' batting order Sunday for the first time this season. He went 1-for-5. ... The Tigers hope to have Victor Martinez back Wednesday. The designated hitter has been on the 10-day disabled list with an irregular heartbeat. He is scheduled to take batting practice Tuesday. ... Detroit LF Justin Upton extended his on-base streak to 23 straight games with a first-inning double Sunday. It is the second-longest active streak in the major leagues. ... Padres INF/OF Allen Cordoba has swelling in his left hand after being hit by a pitch Saturday night. X-rays were negative. ... San Diego 3B Cory Spangenberg hit in the cleanup spot Sunday for the first time as a major-leaguer. He finished 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Detroit   San Diego
Jordan Zimmermann Player Clayton Richard
No Decision W/L No Decision
4.0 IP 5.1
5 Strikeouts 3
6 Hits 9
11.25 ERA 8.44
Hitting
Detroit   San Diego
Nicholas Castellanos Player Erick Aybar
2 Hits 2
2 RBI 1
1 HR 1
5 TB 5
.500 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Detroit 14 1 23 .368 19 7 7 3 0 1
San Diego 7 2 16 .226 16 12 5 5 0 0