MIAMI — Miguel Cabrera received the loudest standing ovation from the fans, attending the Miami Marlins’ Venezuelan Heritage Celebration, in the second inning of Saturday’s game. The cheers started when he walked to the plate and intensified when he tipped his helmet to the crowd of 32,936.
“It was like playing in Maracay and Caracas,” Cabrera said. “It was like playing at home (in Venezuela). It was a perfect game. It’s going to be one of the most special days of my career.”
Another round of cheers occurred when Cabrera, in the final season of his 21-year career, pulled into second base after slapping a fastball over the right-field wall on one bounce for a ground-rule double.
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The 40-year-old scored on Akil Baddoo’s three-run home run in the second inning, which sparked the Detroit Tigers to a 5-0 win over the Marlins in the second of three games at loanDepot Park.
The victory for the Tigers (47-58) snapped a four-game losing streak.
“It was great,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “The fans were into it. When Miggy got up, every time it was amazing. I really appreciated how consistent they were with him to make his day special. We played well. It was a good day all the way around, and the environment kickstarted it.”
Before Cabrera’s double, Javier Báez provided a rare five-pitch walk against Marlins right-hander Johnny Cueto. Then, with two outs, Baddoo slapped a second-pitch slider on the outside part of the plate for a three-run blast to left-center and a 3-0 lead.
The lead increased to 4-0 with Riley Greene’s solo home run to begin the sixth inning. He hit a third-pitch 90.9 mph fastball on the outside part of the plate 372 feet down the left-field line, staying just inside the foul pole.
“Incredible,” Greene said. “I think this is one of the most electric games I’ve been a part of with Miggy and the Venezuelan night. It was awesome. It got me going.”
Both Baddoo and Greene are left-handed hitters, yet they sent their home runs to the opposite field. Greene has hit three of his eight home runs to left while posting a .308 batting average in 69 games this season.
Cueto allowed four runs on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts in six innings, throwing 56 of 83 pitches for strikes.
Cabrera, hitting .250 in 60 games, finished 2-for-4 with one strikeout and his 11th double of the season. He is expected to play in Sunday’s series finale, which will be the final game of his career in Miami.
“I’m enjoying this time,” Cabrera said. “I’m enjoying my last year in the big leagues. I put that in my mind, go out there and have fun. I’m trying to do the best I can on the field. It’s no pressure. I made it. I’m really happy, so let’s keep winning, and hopefully, we can win the series tomorrow.”
He added a single to center in the top of the ninth inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Jake Rogers. On his way back to the dugout, Cabrera smiled and tipped his helmet to the fans amid another standing ovation.
The fans chanted “Mig-gy” after Cabrera sat down in the dugout.
The Tigers tacked on their fifth run moments later, when Zack Short launched a double to left-center field and scored Rogers from first base.
Protecting a 5-0 lead, right-handed reliever Alex Lange fired a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning to secure the Tigers’ win. He retired all three batters: Jean Segura (groundout), Jesus Sanchez (strikeout) and Dane Myers (groundout).
Welcome back, Wentz
Left-hander Joey Wentz, who entered in the third inning, tossed 4⅔ scoreless innings out of the bullpen. The 25-year-old allowed four hits and one walk with six strikeouts, throwing 48 of 76 pitches for strikes.
The Tigers recalled Wentz from Triple-A Toledo before Saturday’s game.
“I found out I was coming back up, and obviously, you want to help the team,” said Wentz, previously demoted at the end of June. “It feels good to do that. I think it was a big team win today. It feels really good.”
He looked his best in the fifth inning.
Wentz struck out Luis Arraez (93.4 mph fastball), Bryan De La Cruz (93.2 mph fastball) and Garrett Cooper (84.6 mph changeup). Between the Arraez and De La Cruz plate appearances, Jorge Soler pushed a single into right field, but the hit didn’t break Wentz’s rhythm.
“I thought I was able to land a couple of curveballs,” Wentz said. “I think I landed pitches when I needed to. The beginning of the outing wasn’t a super-clean inning, but I felt better as we went on. It feels good to help the team.”
Before that, in the third inning, Wentz faced Jon Berti — a native of Troy and alumnus of Troy High School — with runners on the corners and two outs. Back-to-back down-and-away changeups induced an inning-ending flyout to center field.
Wentz needed 39 pitches to get his first six outs, then 37 pitches to get his final eight outs.
He threw 23 four-seam fastballs (30%), 21 changeups (28%), 21 cutters (28%) and 11 curveballs (14%). His fastball, changeup and cutter combined for seven of his eight whiffs, while his curveball accounted for four of his 15 called strikes.
“I think he controlled his emotions,” Hinch said. “I think he controlled his reaction to misfires. I think he used his pitches quite well. The curveball was pretty good. He didn’t get into patters. There’s a lot of growth that we’re seeing with him, and we’re going to keep challenging him to do that again.”
Right-handed reliever Jason Foley recorded the final out in the seventh inning, followed by the first two outs in the eighth inning. With a runner on third base, lefty reliever Tyler Holton replaced Foley and struck out veteran Yuli Gurriel to help the Tigers escape the eighth unscathed.
Starting strong
Before Wentz, the Tigers used right-handed reliever Beau Brieske as an opener for Saturday’s game.
The 25-year-old pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts while working around three singles. He threw 25 of 37 pitches for strikes.
“We wanted a righty against those guys at the top,” Hinch said. “Soler always hits up there. De La Cruz always hits up there. I assumed Cooper was going to play, or Berti. The way they set their lineup, they only have three lefties anyway. Choosing out of the right-handed bullpen, he was the most fresh.
“Beau has done the starting thing before, so I knew he would be able to manage the first part of the game. I loved his stuff. The sinker has been real. Two different offspeed pitches that can attack these guys. He’s never going to be rattled.”
His underlying pitch data was even more impressive than his final line. The average velocity from his pitches was higher than normal: a 97.2 mph four-seam fastball (up from 94.3 mph), a 96.5 mph sinker (up from 93.6 mph), 89.5 mph (up from 82 mph) and an 89.3 mph slider (up from 86.2 mph).
Brieske’s four-seamer maxed out at 98.7 mph.
The second-year righty, who has appeared in six games since returning from the injured list, generated seven whiffs on two four-seamers, two sinkers, two changeups and one slider. He also had five called strikes.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.