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Thames' grand slam propels Tigers past Mariners

May 22, 2008 - 3:08 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Marcus Thames and his teammates have made short work of the Seattle Mariners' pitching.

Thames belted a grand slam in a seven-run second inning as the Detroit Tigers rolled to a 9-4 victory of the Mariners on Wednesday.

Brandon Inge had a two-run double and every hitter in the Tigers' lineup had a hit and either scored or drove in a run.

"It wasn't like we knocked the ball all over the place," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "But we found some right spots and put the bat on the ball."

The win came on the heels of Detroit outslugging Seattle, 12-8, on Tuesday behind 17 hits, the second-best effort of the season for the Tigers.

"We've been hitting like we know we can," Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez said. "It's just part of the game. We're a good-hitting ballclub and the last two games we've been doing it."

Detroit has totaled 21 runs and 31 hits over the past two games.

The Tigers got to Mariners starter Jarrod Washburn early, courtesy of Inge's two-run double.

After Seattle halved its deficit in the top of the third on a leadoff blast by Yuniesky Betancourt, Detroit sent 11 men to the plate in the bottom of the frame to put the game away.

Three straight hits loaded the bases with no outs before run-scoring singles by Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Guillen gave the Tigers a 4-1 lead. Thames then sent a 1-1 fastball by Washburn over the wall in left to increase the lead to 8-1.

"He jammed me a little bit, but it got out for me," Thames said. "It was a big hit for us and I'm glad to help the team win."

It was Thames' third homer of the season and fifth grand slam of his career.

"Marcus is a threat to hit the ball out of the ballpark every time he walks up to the plate," Leyland said.

Two batters later, Inge tripled before he was driven in by a single by Rodriguez for a 9-1 lead, effectively ending the night for Washburn (2-6).

"I had good stuff and made good pitches," Washburn said. "With the exception of the one to Thames for the homer that was up for a strike, all the pitches they hit were balls. They just did a good job of putting the bat on the ball."

The Seattle lefthander was rocked for nine runs and 12 hits in just 2 1/3 innings - easily his shortest start of the season.

Detroit starter Kenny Rogers (4-4) allowed four runs, eight hits and three walks while striking out two in 5 1/3 innings for his third win in his last four decisions.

"The offense was terrific," Rogers said. "Scoring all those runs early makes it a lot easier to go out and find your rhythm."

Richie Sexson hit a solo homer and Adrian Beltre went 2-for-5 with an RBI for the Mariners, who have dropped nine of their last 10 road games.

"We are having a tough time," Mariners manager John McLaren said. "Our starters are struggling. We seem to be behind the eight-ball every night.

"When you get behind 9-1 early, you put yourself in a bad position. A little bit of everything happened to us tonight. We just had a bad ballgame again."