DETROIT -- Michael Fulmer is helping the Detroit Tigers enjoy baseball again.
One night after the Tigers threw 220 pitches in an ugly loss, Fulmer only needed 101 in his eight innings of Saturday night's 11-1 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.
"It's fun to play a game where you are scoring runs on offense and your pitcher is getting quick outs," third baseman Nicholas Castellanos said. "That's how you want to play every day."
Fulmer and Alex Wilson finished the game throwing 115 pitches, a far cry from Friday's 7-2 loss that saw the bullpen need 106 pitches to get 11 outs.
"It has a huge impact on the entire team when you aren't asking them to stand around on defense for 20 minutes every half-inning," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "The game goes stagnant in a hurry when you do that."
Castellanos, Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez homered for the Tigers. Martinez, the focus of numerous trade rumors, drove in five runs.
Fulmer (10-6) won his fourth straight start, giving up one run and two hits while walking one and striking out three.
"My walk came around to score, so that wasn't good, but this was obviously a very good game," said Fulmer, who made his first All-Star appearance earlier in the week. "I needed a game like this, where I avoided barrels and got a lot of weak contact."
Kendrys Morales had a clean single in the second inning, but the Blue Jays didn't get another hit until Troy Tulowitzki's infield single in the eighth.
"He was really aggressive and getting strike one as quickly as possible," Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin said. "He had a good fastball with movement and a good slider to go with it."
Francisco Liriano (5-5) took the loss, allowing five runs, three hits and four walks in two-plus innings. He struck out two.
Castellanos gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the first with his 11th homer, and Jose Iglesias made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the second.
Liriano lost the strike zone in the third. He started the inning by walking Castellanos, Justin Upton and Cabrera, then went 2-0 on Martinez before coming out with neck tightness.
Mike Bolsinger entered the game, and Martinez hit his first pitch for a two-run single. Mikie Mahtook made it 5-0 later in the inning with a sacrifice fly.
"We've seen bouts of wildness before with him, but you could really see when the neck started bothering him," Toronto manager John Gibbons said of Liriano. "He really lost it."
Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays led off the fourth with a walk, took second on a wild pitch and scored on groundouts by Martin and Josh Donaldson.
The Tigers regained their five-run lead in the sixth when Upton's groundout scored Iglesias. Cabrera followed with a two-run homer to left, making it 8-1.
Martinez hit a three-run homer off Aaron Loup in the eighth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: Reliever Joe Smith (shoulder) threw a scoreless inning Friday night for Triple-A Buffalo, and is scheduled to pitch for them again on Sunday before returning to the Blue Jays for their series against Boston.
Tigers: LHP Daniel Norris (groin) threw a bullpen session on Saturday, but will throw again on Sunday before the Tigers decide if he's healthy enough to start Tuesday in Kansas City.
UNWANTED SUCCESS
Cabrera got one of the most frustrating base hits of his career in the fourth inning. With Upton on second and two outs, Cabrera hit a 108-mph groundball to the left side of the infield, but the ball hit Upton's heel, meaning that he was automatically out while Cabrera was credited with a single.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (4-6, 5.17 ERA) will start the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Estrada won his only start against the Tigers, beating them 10-5 on July 5, 2015 at Comerica Park.
Tigers: RHP Anibal Sanchez (1-0, 5.89 ERA) will try to continue his renaissance on Sunday. After going to the minors in May, Sanchez has gone 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in four starts since rejoining the rotation in June.
One night after the Tigers threw 220 pitches in an ugly loss, Fulmer only needed 101 in his eight innings of Saturday night's 11-1 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.
"It's fun to play a game where you are scoring runs on offense and your pitcher is getting quick outs," third baseman Nicholas Castellanos said. "That's how you want to play every day."
Fulmer and Alex Wilson finished the game throwing 115 pitches, a far cry from Friday's 7-2 loss that saw the bullpen need 106 pitches to get 11 outs.
"It has a huge impact on the entire team when you aren't asking them to stand around on defense for 20 minutes every half-inning," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "The game goes stagnant in a hurry when you do that."
Castellanos, Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez homered for the Tigers. Martinez, the focus of numerous trade rumors, drove in five runs.
Fulmer (10-6) won his fourth straight start, giving up one run and two hits while walking one and striking out three.
"My walk came around to score, so that wasn't good, but this was obviously a very good game," said Fulmer, who made his first All-Star appearance earlier in the week. "I needed a game like this, where I avoided barrels and got a lot of weak contact."
Kendrys Morales had a clean single in the second inning, but the Blue Jays didn't get another hit until Troy Tulowitzki's infield single in the eighth.
"He was really aggressive and getting strike one as quickly as possible," Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin said. "He had a good fastball with movement and a good slider to go with it."
Francisco Liriano (5-5) took the loss, allowing five runs, three hits and four walks in two-plus innings. He struck out two.
Castellanos gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the first with his 11th homer, and Jose Iglesias made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the second.
Liriano lost the strike zone in the third. He started the inning by walking Castellanos, Justin Upton and Cabrera, then went 2-0 on Martinez before coming out with neck tightness.
Mike Bolsinger entered the game, and Martinez hit his first pitch for a two-run single. Mikie Mahtook made it 5-0 later in the inning with a sacrifice fly.
"We've seen bouts of wildness before with him, but you could really see when the neck started bothering him," Toronto manager John Gibbons said of Liriano. "He really lost it."
Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays led off the fourth with a walk, took second on a wild pitch and scored on groundouts by Martin and Josh Donaldson.
The Tigers regained their five-run lead in the sixth when Upton's groundout scored Iglesias. Cabrera followed with a two-run homer to left, making it 8-1.
Martinez hit a three-run homer off Aaron Loup in the eighth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: Reliever Joe Smith (shoulder) threw a scoreless inning Friday night for Triple-A Buffalo, and is scheduled to pitch for them again on Sunday before returning to the Blue Jays for their series against Boston.
Tigers: LHP Daniel Norris (groin) threw a bullpen session on Saturday, but will throw again on Sunday before the Tigers decide if he's healthy enough to start Tuesday in Kansas City.
UNWANTED SUCCESS
Cabrera got one of the most frustrating base hits of his career in the fourth inning. With Upton on second and two outs, Cabrera hit a 108-mph groundball to the left side of the infield, but the ball hit Upton's heel, meaning that he was automatically out while Cabrera was credited with a single.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (4-6, 5.17 ERA) will start the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Estrada won his only start against the Tigers, beating them 10-5 on July 5, 2015 at Comerica Park.
Tigers: RHP Anibal Sanchez (1-0, 5.89 ERA) will try to continue his renaissance on Sunday. After going to the minors in May, Sanchez has gone 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in four starts since rejoining the rotation in June.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Toronto - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Fulmer pitching for Detroit | TOR | DET |
| Bautista flied out to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Martin grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| Donaldson grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Francisco Liriano pitching for Toronto | TOR | DET |
| Kinsler popped out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Castellanos homered to right (358 feet). | 0 | 1 |
| Upton struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Cabrera flied out to center. | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Michael Fulmer pitching for Detroit | TOR | DET |
| Smoak flied out to center. | 0 | 1 |
| Morales singled to center. | 0 | 1 |
| Tulowitzki grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Morales out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Francisco Liriano pitching for Toronto | TOR | DET |
| J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| V. Martínez grounded out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Mahtook reached on infield single to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| McCann walked, Mahtook to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Iglesias singled to right center, Mahtook scored, McCann to third. | 0 | 2 |
| Kinsler flied out to right. | 0 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Michael Fulmer pitching for Detroit | TOR | DET |
| Pearce grounded out to second. | 0 | 2 |
| Pillar flied out to center. | 0 | 2 |
| Goins grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Francisco Liriano pitching for Toronto | TOR | DET |
| Castellanos walked. | 0 | 2 |
| Upton walked, Castellanos to second. | 0 | 2 |
| Cabrera walked, Castellanos to third, Upton to second. | 0 | 2 |
| Bolsinger relieved Liriano. | 0 | 2 |
| J.D. Martinez singled to left, Castellanos and Upton scored, Cabrera to second. | 0 | 4 |
| V. Martínez flied out to center, Cabrera to third. | 0 | 4 |
| Mahtook hit sacrifice fly to left, Cabrera scored. | 0 | 5 |
| McCann walked, J.D. Martinez to second. | 0 | 5 |
| Iglesias struck out swinging. | 0 | 5 |
| 3 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Michael Fulmer pitching for Detroit | TOR | DET |
| Bautista walked. | 0 | 5 |
| Bautista to second on wild pitch by Fulmer. | 0 | 5 |
| Martin grounded out to shortstop, Bautista to third. | 0 | 5 |
| Donaldson grounded out to shortstop, Bautista scored. | 1 | 5 |
| Smoak flied out to center. | 1 | 5 |
| 1 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Mike Bolsinger pitching for Toronto | TOR | DET |
| Kinsler walked. | 1 | 5 |
| Castellanos grounded into double play, third to second to first, Kinsler out at second. | 1 | 5 |
| Upton doubled to left. | 1 | 5 |
| Cabrera reached on infield single to shortstop, Upton hit by batted ball out at third. | 1 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Michael Fulmer pitching for Detroit | TOR | DET |
| Morales grounded out to first. | 1 | 5 |
| Tulowitzki grounded out to third. | 1 | 5 |
| Pearce struck out swinging. | 1 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Mike Bolsinger pitching for Toronto | TOR | DET |
| J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. | 1 | 5 |
| V. Martínez singled to left. | 1 | 5 |
| Mahtook struck out swinging. | 1 | 5 |
| McCann struck out swinging. | 1 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Michael Fulmer pitching for Detroit | TOR | DET |
| Pillar fouled out to right. | 1 | 5 |
| Goins grounded out to first. | 1 | 5 |
| Bautista struck out swinging. | 1 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Mike Bolsinger pitching for Toronto | TOR | DET |
| Iglesias singled to center. | 1 | 5 |
| Iglesias stole second. | 1 | 5 |
| Kinsler walked. | 1 | 5 |
| Castellanos lined out to center, Iglesias to third. | 1 | 5 |
| Upton grounded out to third, Iglesias scored, Kinsler to second. | 1 | 6 |
| Cabrera homered to left center (396 feet), Kinsler scored. | 1 | 8 |
| J.D. Martinez doubled to left. | 1 | 8 |
| Harrell relieved Bolsinger. | 1 | 8 |
| V. Martínez lined out to center. | 1 | 8 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Michael Fulmer pitching for Detroit | TOR | DET |
| Martin grounded out to third. | 1 | 8 |
| Donaldson grounded out to third. | 1 | 8 |
| Smoak struck out swinging. | 1 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Lucas Harrell pitching for Toronto | TOR | DET |
| Mahtook grounded out to second. | 1 | 8 |
| McCann struck out swinging. | 1 | 8 |
| Iglesias reached on infield single to third. | 1 | 8 |
| Kinsler grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Iglesias out at second. | 1 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Michael Fulmer pitching for Detroit | TOR | DET |
| Morales grounded out to second. | 1 | 8 |
| Tulowitzki reached on infield single to third. | 1 | 8 |
| Pearce lined out to left. | 1 | 8 |
| Pillar grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Tulowitzki out at second. | 1 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Aaron Loup pitching for Toronto | TOR | DET |
| Loup relieved Harrell. | 1 | 8 |
| Castellanos grounded out to third. | 1 | 8 |
| Upton singled to right. | 1 | 8 |
| Cabrera singled to left, Upton to second. | 1 | 8 |
| J.D. Martinez homered to right (367 feet), Upton and Cabrera scored. | 1 | 11 |
| V. Martínez flied out to right. | 1 | 11 |
| Mahtook struck out swinging. | 1 | 11 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Alex Wilson pitching for Detroit | TOR | DET |
| Machado at second base. | 1 | 11 |
| Romine in left field. | 1 | 11 |
| Avila at first base. | 1 | 11 |
| Presley in right field. | 1 | 11 |
| A. Wilson relieved Fulmer. | 1 | 11 |
| Goins struck out swinging. | 1 | 11 |
| Montero hit for Bautista. | 1 | 11 |
| Montero grounded out to third. | 1 | 11 |
| Martin flied out to right. | 1 | 11 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto Blue Jays | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Bautista RF | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | .234 | .350 | .406 |
a-Montero PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .000 | .091 | .000 |
| Martin C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .230 | .372 | .392 |
| Donaldson 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .256 | .378 | .470 |
| Smoak 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .289 | .358 | .564 |
| Morales DH | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .251 | .302 | .449 |
| Tulowitzki SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .245 | .295 | .387 |
| Pearce LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .268 | .325 | .451 |
| Pillar CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .252 | .307 | .412 |
| Goins 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | .200 | .261 | .320 |
| Totals | 28 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 115 | |||
| a-grounded to third for J Bautista in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING RBI: Donaldson (28) GIDP: Tulowitzki Blue Jays RISP: 0-2 (Donaldson 0-1, Martin 0-1) Team LOB: 1 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (Donaldson-Goins-Smoak). | ||||||||||
Game Notes
| SP LIRIANO (NECK TIGHTNESS) LEFT GAME BOT 3RD |
Game Information
| Stadium | Comerica Park, Detroit, MI |
| Attendance | 40,056 (96.3% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:47 |
| Weather | 79 degrees, clear |
| Wind | 10 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Andy Fletcher, First Base - Alan Porter, Second Base - Joe West, Third Base - Hunter Wendelstedt |
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