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Robertson pitches Tigers past Athletics

Aug 10, 2008 - 9:20 PM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Nate Robertson put an end to his recent woes thanks to a visit from the struggling Oakland Athletics.

The Detroit Tigers' starter tossed seven-plus strong innings on Sunday to lift his team over the Athletics, 6-1, and in the process secured his first victory since June 21.

Robertson (7-8) came into the game having gone winless over his last seven starts, posting an 0-2 record with a dismal 8.42 ERA over that span. The lefthander thrived against the lethargic Oakland offense, however, allowing one run, five hits and a walk while striking out five in 7 2/3 innings.

"Nate was really good," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He saved our bullpen - we've been grasping at straws down there and needed to get some innings from our starters. He pitched about as well as he can pitch."

Robertson had his only hiccup in the fourth, but escaped a two-out, bases-loaded jam when Kurt Suzuki lined out sharply to second baseman Placido Polanco, who made a leaping grab.

"There was a little English on that (line drive)," said Robertson, who retired the next 10 batters after getting Suzuki. "A four-seamer, I didn't get it as much inside as I wanted it and he inside-outed it. (Polanco) stayed with it and made a good catch."

The Athletics' lineup is averaging just 2.8 runs per game since the All-Star break, and Sunday marked the 12th time in the last 21 games that the club has been held to two runs or less. Not surprisingly, Oakland has dropped 21 of its last 24 games.

The frustration also continued for Athletics starter Greg Smith (5-11), who took the loss after allowing one run and three hits over 4 2/3 innings. The lefthander is 0-5 with a 5.17 ERA over his last seven starts and hasn't won since June 30.

"My whole body was out of sync," said Smith, who struck out two and walked seven. "It seemed that my arm was dragging on every pitch. It was about the third inning that I was able to make adjustment and feel comfortable.

"It was a tough, but weird outing. I threw well, but not often enough. I had only one hard-hit ball, but nothing to show for it."

It wasn't until the fifth inning that Detroit posted a run on Smith, getting a leadoff home run from Curtis Granderson.

"Ball down the middle of the plate, was able to get it to go out of the ballpark," said Granderson of his 15th home run. "A lot of credit goes to Nate for the whole thing - he threw a lot of strikes and got a lot of guys out."

With reliever Huston Street in for Smith, Detroit padded its lead an inning later when Polanco delivered an RBI single with the bases loaded. Magglio Ordonez made it 4-0 moments later, driving in two runs with a single to right.

Oakland's day perhaps was best summed up on one play the eighth inning. Detroit's Ryan Raburn belted an RBI double to left, took third on the throw home and came in to score when pitcher Joey Devine threw wildly to third base.

Detroit reliever Fernando Rodney recorded the final four outs of the game to secure his third save.

Mark Ellis provided Oakland's only run with an RBI single in the eighth inning, ending Robertson's shutout bid and his outing.

"It seemed like everything was working for (Robertson) today," Oakland manager Bob Geren said. "His location was excellent and he mixed his pitches. He looked like his old self."