DETROIT -- Lloyd McClendon spent last fall hoping to get a chance to manage in a pennant race at Comerica Park. He got his wish Friday night, even if it wasnt exactly the way he had envisioned things. McClendon had hoped to become the Tigers manager when Jim Leyland retired after winning three straight AL Central titles, but general manager Dave Dombrowski picked Brad Ausmus over Leylands longtime hitting coach. McClendon ended up managing the Mariners instead, and made his return to Comerica Park with a 7-2 victory. After the game, though, he didnt want to make a big deal out of his first game back or the fact that the win moved Seattle a half-game ahead of Detroit in the race for the second AL wild card. "This was the first win of the series," he said. "Other than that, no, it was no more significant than another game." Ladner, B.C., native James Paxton (3-0) was the star for Seattle, pitching six innings and allowing one run on five hits. Robinson Cano homered, and he and Logan Morrison each scored twice as Seattle won its fifth straight and ninth in 11 games. "That kid has a really nice downward angle on his fastball, and you end up hitting a lot of grounders and choppers off him," Ausmus said. "We actually hit some balls hard, but it seemed like they all went to the shortstop (Chris Taylor), and he just kept making play after play." The Tigers dropped 1 1/2 games behind first-place Kansas City in the AL Central, thanks to a 12-17 stretch since the All-Star break. "Obviously, wed rather be in first place by 15 games, but were not," Ausmus said. "Theres nothing we can do about what weve done up until now. You just go out tomorrow and try to start winning games again." Rick Porcello (13-8) struggled badly in his first appearance since pitching the final three innings of Detroits 19-inning loss in Toronto on Sunday. After a five-start stretch in which he had a 1.75 ERA, the 25-year-old righty gave up six runs -- five earned -- and 10 hits in six innings. He didnt walk a batter, but struck out only three. "The game in Toronto had nothing to do with what happened tonight," he said. "I had plenty of time to get ready for this start, and I prepared just like I always do. I just didnt pitch well." Seattle jumped out to a quick three-run lead in the second. Following a leadoff single and a hit batter, Morrison and Endy Chavez each hit an RBI single. Taylor bunted for a single, loading the bases with none out, but ex-Tiger Austin Jackson grounded into a double play, helping Porcello to escape only down 3-0. An inning earlier, Jackson received a long standing ovation when he led off his first game at Comerica Park since the trade-deadline deal that sent him to Seattle and brought ace pitcher David Price to the Tigers. "That was a special moment for me," said Jackson, a fan favourite in Detroit for his defence in centre field. "Once the game started, it was business as usual, but that was fun." Cano made it 4-0 with a long homer on the first pitch of the third. After the Tigers got on the board in the bottom half, Taylor restored the four-run lead with an RBI single in the fourth, and Detroit never threatened again. "The run in the fourth was the one that really frustrated me, because we were still within 4-1, and with this offence, thats manageable," Porcello said. "Our guys were battling out there, and I couldnt keep them in the game." MIXED-UP BOBBLEHEAD The Tigers gave away Miguel Cabrera bobbleheads that depict him holding his two MVP trophies. The only problem? The trophies say "Most Valuable Player, National League", which would be news to Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen, who won the 2012 and 2013 NL MVP awards, respectively, while Cabrera was winning in the AL. UP NEXT The Tigers and Mariners square off again Saturday night with a marquee pitching matchup. Price (11-8) will make his third start for Detroit, and Seattle counters with Felix Hernandez (12-3). Hernandez, who made his major league debut at Comerica Park, is 9-0 in his last 11 starts against the Tigers, but will be facing Price for the first time. TRAINERS ROOM Mariners: With the big lead, Cano left in the eighth inning, partially as a precaution after fouling a pitch off his foot early in the game. He isnt expected to miss any time. ... OF Michael Saunders (oblique) resumed his rehab stint with Triple-A Tacoma after missing time for the birth of his child. In five games with Tacoma, he was hitting .353 with a .542 on-base percentage. Tigers: RHP Justin Verlander (shoulder) isnt scheduled to pick up a baseball until Tuesday, when he will try some short tossing. Ausmus said Verlanders schedule will be based entirely on how he feels then, but the hope is still that he will start next Friday in Minnesota. MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT Tigers reliever Melvin Mercedes made his major league debut with two perfect innings, needing just 23 pitches. He became the 11th player to make his debut with the Tigers this season. . NORRIS COLE (Heat): Its funny, you watch a guy play and now really produce and it just jumps off the page at you - why? You put a young player with potential in a winning environment where there is veteran leadership, outstanding coaching and management and a way that things are done and its a wonderful environment for growth, improvement in a climate of constant accountability and expectation of achievement/production. .The Hamilton Tiger-Cat defensive back always has the required receipt. But he also walks around with a tangle of metal screws, rods and plates after breaking his neck in 2006 playing high school football in Louisiana.
http://www.fcmunichpro.com/Kids-Thomas-Muller-Jersey/. Only it wasnt the extended right pad of his old teammate Jonathan Bernier early in the final frame, it was James Reimer, who stole a night that was supposed to belong to the former King. . New Zealand brushed aside England 26-7 to win the event and reclaim top spot in the overall standings. The All Blacks, the defending World Series champions, won their third tournament this season in style, running four tries past England to claim their 11th Cup championship in Hong Kong and first since 2011. . Obasi chested the ball past one defender, prodded it past another and then rounded the keeper before scoring from a tight angle in the 16th minute. Seconds after the restart, Obasi set up Klaas Jan Huntelaar for the Dutchmans 11th goal from 13 games this season.LONDON -- Arsene Wenger will feel "let down" if UEFA does not take a strong stance against clubs found guilty of breaking Financial Fair Play rules. UEFA will announce the first sanctions this month and more serious cases will be judged in June. A UEFA panel has negotiated settlements with clubs which have breached rules designed to curb owners excessive spending on transfers and wages since 2011. "One of the rules is that normally you should be banned for the excess of the financial amount that is not justified, that is if you are 100 million pounds ($169 million) overboard, you should be punished for 100 million of your wages bill in the Champions League," the Arsenal manager said during a pre-match news conference on Friday. UEFA said in February it targeted 76 clubs which played in the Champions League or Europa League. Speculation centred on big spenders Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, which are owned by the ruling families of Qatar and Abu Dhabi, respectively. Wenger said its in UEFAs interest to send a strong message when the first sanctions are issued in order to convince clubs to take its scheme seriously. "I want to see that respected.ddddddddddddIf that is not respected, then the Financial Fair Play will have problems to be respected in the future because everyone will just not consider it at all," Wenger said. UEFA appointed former Belgium Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene to lead the panel investigating club accounts. Serious sanctions will be decided by a panel led by Jose Cunha Rodrigues of Portugal, a judge at the European Court of Justice. Expulsion from the Champions League and second-tier Europa League are the toughest penalty UEFA reserves but its president, Michel Platini, said last week in an interview with a French newspaper that clubs wont be excluded from next seasons Champions League. Wenger believes Platinis announcement could be linked to TV rights sales. "That has gone now out. I have thought about that problem and the media might play a part in that, because when UEFA sells the rights of the Champions League to a French TV station, it is very difficult to explain to them once they have paid the money that the best club in their country will not play in the competition, so that might be one of the reasons behind that," the French coach said. ' ' '
