Detroit Tigers Come Back From 7 Run Deficit, Win 9-8 On Cabrera Homer

Brad Penny has struggled this season as a Tiger pitcher. He didn't get much help from his defense today and that set the stage for a fun day for Chicago hitters. An error on what could have been an inning-ending doubleplay in the 4th led to 5 White Sox runs (4 unearned) and the Tigers were down 6-1. Penny didn't help himself much in the next inning, allowing back-to-back jacks and suddenly the rout was on as Chicago held an 8-1 lead. The Tigers did not give up.
In the bottom of the 5th the Tigers started to chip away at what seemed like an insurmountable lead. Carlos Guillen singled, then scored on Austin Jackson's triple to make it 8-2. Delmon Young then homered and it was 8-4.
David Pauley relieved Penny, and held the Sox scoreless for 3 innings. In the 7th, Wilson Betemit hit a solo homer to draw the Tigers closer with the score now at 8-5. In the 8th inning Victor Martinez doubled and scored on a single by Jhonny Peralta. Suddenly the score is 8-6. A half hour rain delay sent most of the crowd at Comerica Park home, but the Tigers were not done. Down 8-6 in the bottom of the 9th, Wilson Betemit led off the inning by striking out. Not exactly the beginning of a comback that Tiger fans were hoping for, but it wasn't over. Austin Jackson belted his second triple of the day (he had 4 hits today and has been on FIRE lately) and scored when Ryan Raburn hit a two-run homer way back into the left field seats to tie the game off Sox closer Sergio Santos. Santos then struck out Delmon Young for the second out. Surely, he wouldn't let Miguel Cabrera beat him in a crucial situation like this, would he? One pitch later we knew the answer as Miguel sent his 25th homer of the season deep into the left field seats for a Tiger walk-off win. Final Score: Tigers 9, White Sox 8

This win was huge for the Tigers as it puts the White Sox 7.5 games behind Detroit in the American League Central Division race. Cleveland is 6.5 back after losing tonight to Kansas City. The Tigers and White Sox will play in front of a national television audience again tomorrow night on ESPN. Max Scherzer vs. Mark Buerle with an 8:10 pm start. After that, the Tigers hit the road for 3 games in Cleveland. A big week for the Tigers, and it's off to a pretty good start.