Maroth Shaky But Tigers Get A Win

It was Mike Maroth's first regular season start since last May when elbow surgery robbed him of a season, even if it wasn't very pretty. In the end Maroth knows it's the win that counts, and that's precisely what Maroth got as Detroit beat Kansas City 6-5.

"[I] did enough to win," Maroth said. "I wouldn't say that I pitched real well, but we scored more runs than they did, and that's what counts."

His teammates spotted Maroth a 4-1 lead early, but he let the Royals tie the game up in the third inning after Reggie Sanders smoked a two-run homer to left field. Fortunately for Maroth, his counterpart Gil Meche wasn't nearly as sharp as he was on Opening Day, and the Tigers offense didn't miss their chances.

After Kansas City tied the game at 4, Ivan Rodriguez led the fourth inning off by lining the first pitch he saw from Mech over the wall in left field. Curtis Granderson would then add a solo shot in the fifth inning to provide the Tigers with all the runs they'd need.

Meche lasted seven innings, but allowed all six Tigers runs that included the solo homers to Rodriguez, Granderson, and Gary Sheffield. Afterwards Meche talked about not having the same command of his pitches that he had when he beat the Red Sox earlier this week.

"I never felt like the weather was bothering me," Meche said. "I just couldn't find a rhythm on the mound with my offspeed pitches, and I kept falling behind. The other day, it seemed that everything that came out of my hand was a strike, and today, it seemed like I was trying to find it pretty much every inning. I couldn't get it to where I wanted to be."

The two teams will meet again in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon as the Tigers send Jeremy Bonderman to the mound against Brandon Duckworth.