The Tigers were about to be swept by the Oakland A’s, but today Kenny Rogers took the mound. Kenny Rogers typically dominates the Oakland A’s and it showed today. The Tigers were also able to break out of their offensive funk and put some runs on the board. While Oakland managed a nice collection of hits, they just could not put them together to form many runs. In the end, it did not matter as the Tigers made the most of their 13 hits.

Kenny Rogers pitched a decent 5.2 innings today. He allowed 8 runs and 2 walks. He also struck out 4 batters. Normally allowing 10 baserunners would not be a great thing, but he limited the A’s to 4 runs. 3 of those runs came in the third inning. Kielty and Scuraro each homered off of Rogers. Unfortunately for Oakland, Saarloos was on the mound.

Saarloos did not pitch well at all. He lasted just 4.1 innings and allowed 9 hits. He struck up two. That part of his performance was similar to Rogers, but that’s where the similarities end. The Tigers managed to score 8 runs against Saarloos. Monroe and Inge both homered against Saarloos. The Tigers scored 2 in the second, 4 in the third, 1 one in the forth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth. 8 of those 10 runs came courtesy of Saarloos.

By the time Oakland took Saarloos out of the game, it was too late. The damage had been done. Roman Colon came in as relief for the Tigers. He dominated for 3.1 innings allowing just 2 hits. He did not allow Oakland even the hint of coming back in this one. Still, Oakland managed to take two of three and remain atop of the AL West. The Detroit Tigers are now heading to Seattle for a three game set against the Mariners. After that, we will be at the All Star break. There will be some much-needed rest for many players.