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  Wednesday, Aug. 23 7:05pm ET
Mariners suffer ninth loss in last 10
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

DETROIT (AP) -- The fans were swarmed over by clouds of flying insects. The Seattle Mariners didn't do any better.

"I thought we were going to get bugged out in the first," Seattle starter Paul Abbott said Wednesday night after the Mariners' 6-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers. "It was amazing. A stampede from bugs."

Juan Encarnacion hit a two-run triple in a five-run seventh inning as Detroit rallied and sent Seattle to its ninth loss in 10 games.

Swarms of flying insects caused fans to flee their seats early in the game. Fans began running up the aisles as Seattle's Edgar Martinez batted in the first inning, swatting at the insects as they moved.

Those who remained in their seats were constantly swatting at the bugs on themselves or others.

"I couldn't believe the crowd," said Abbott, who pitched 6 1/3 solid innings before the Mariners' bullpen wilted.

Pitchers in the Tigers' bullpen started a small fire trying to ward off the attack. The game was never delayed, and fans returned to their seats as play progressed.

"It wasn't as bad on the field as it was on the perimeter," Tigers manager Phil Garner said.

There was no immediate word on what caused the swarm.

"I put some Off (insect repellent) on," Bobby Higginson said. "They should call that stuff 'On' because they liked that stuff even more. It was brutal. I just hope it doesn't happen again."

Martinez hit his career-high 30th home run and Mike Cameron also homered for Seattle, whose AL West lead remained at 3½ games when Oakland lost at Cleveland.

The Tigers, who moved back within a game of .500, stayed 5½ behind Cleveland in the wild-card race.

"It was a beautiful game from our standpoint," Garner said. "We had an inning where everything went our way."

Detroit trailed 4-1 before batting around in the seventh, getting five straight hits.

Arthur Rhodes (3-7) gave up four consecutive hits after relieving Abbott, who allowed a leadoff double to Deivi Cruz. Jose Macias had an RBI single, Wendell Magee a pinch single, Encarnacion tripled to the right-field corner and Higginson hit a run-scoring single.

"We got in their bullpen and did a great job," Higginson said. "We kept fighting and battling and making things happen."

Juan Gonzalez greeted Jose Mesa with an RBI single before Dean Palmer's sacrifice fly gave Detroit a 6-4 lead.

All of the Tigers' hits went the opposite way.

"It was a beautiful job," Garner said. "That showed the mark of good discipline."

Most of the hits were on two-strike counts.

"I was ahead. They were just finding a hole," Rhodes said. "I didn't throw too many breaking balls. You can't be frustrated. I've been throwing the ball well all year.

Nelson Cruz (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing Cameron's solo homer in the eighth.

Todd Jones pitched the ninth for his AL-leading 36th save in 38 tries. He got Rickey Henderson, who was 3-for-5, to hit into a game-ending double play.

Abbott gave up two runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings.

"It's probably the heaviest right-handed lineup we usually see," Abbott said. "My best pitch is a changeup. I threw one to right-handers. I was just mixing it up, keeping them off balance and moving the ball in and out."

Tigers starter Hideo Nomo left trailing 4-1 after allowing eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 6 1/3 innings.

Back-to-back two-out doubles from Carlos Guillen and Dan Wilson gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the second.

Alex Rodriguez hit an RBI double in the third but was out trying to steal third. That cost the Mariners a run when Martinez followed with a long solo homer.

Detroit broke through in the sixth when Billy McMillon hit a leadoff double and scored on Encarnacion's single.

Wilson doubled, moved up on Henderson's single and scored on John Olerud's ground out to make it 4-1 in the seventh.

Game notes
Martinez had 29 homers with the Mariners in both 1995 and '98. ... Abbott was 0-2 with a 16.50 ERA in two previous career appearances against Detroit. ... The Tigers haven't lost two straight since Aug. 6-7 against Minnesota and Baltimore. ... Rhodes hasn't retired a batter in either of the first two games in Detroit. He walked Higginson, the only batter he faced, Tuesday. ... Wednesday's crowd of 32,356 pushed season attendance at Comerica Park to 2,016,652.
 


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Detroit Clubhouse


What's bugging Tigers fans? Swarms of insects at Comerica


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