It may not have been Mike Hessman’s major league debut, but it’s been a while since the third baseman had seen some time at the big league level.  And he took full advantage of his chance in his Tiger debut with a very nice game.  He went two for four with two RBIs and two runs.  Hessman helped fill in while Marcus Thames is out and while Hessman played most of his season this year for the Hens at third, he did a nice enough job, and provided enough of a punch, as the Tigers starting first baseman last night.

Curtis Granderson stole the show though.  He was a perfect three for three and oddly, he was a triple short of hitting for the cycle.  He did add homerun number 14 to his list of accomplishments and he drove in four runs while scoring two.  Placido Polanco chipped in with three hits, a run and an RBI.

The pitching didn’t do as well, but it did just enough to help the Tigers pick up the win.  Andrew Miller was roughed up for five runs in 4 2/3 innings and his last pitch went way over the catchers head.  Jason Grilli pitched 1 1/3 innings and he picked up his fourth win while Todd Jones pitched a shutout ninth to pick up save number 27.

The Indians lost so the Tigers have their two game lead back.  They can guarantee another 1/2 game lead if they sweep the White Sox today.  The Tigers and White Sox play two today with Jeremy Bonderman getting the start in the first game and then Virgil Vasquez, who just got called back up, will go in the second game.  Both games are on Fox Sports Net so there’s plenty of baseball for Tiger fans today.

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