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It took better than one-third of the season and two stints on the disabled list, but the Tigers‘ Doug Fister finally broke into the win column with an outstanding performance after his first game back in 19 days.

Fister has battled through a pulled stomach muscle which occurred in his first start of the season and has hampered his efforts to continue the hot stretch he finished with in 2011.

Fister (3-1) was razor-sharp, giving the Rockies all they could handle through six-innings, allowing just three hits while striking out six and walking one. His swing-back fastball and two-seamer were money and allowed Fister to take early control of the game, sitting down the first 11 Colorado hitters he faced. 

Phil Coke provided strong relief in the seventh and eighth while earning his 11th hold of the season for the Tigers. Joaquin Benoit allowed the only Colorado run via a Michael Cuddyer ground-out which scored Carlos Gonzalez from third. Gonzalez ripped a double to lead off the ninth.

An outfield throwing error by Don Kelly allowed him to advance to third.

Benoit was called upon to finish the game for Detroit in lieu of  Tigers’ closer Jose Valverde who wasn’t an option today after getting smoked for seven runs in Detroit’s 10th-inning loss on Friday night.

The Tigers offense was led by slugger Miguel Cabrera‘s two-out solo home run in the first inning of Colorado starter Christian Friedrich giving Detroit an early 1-0 lead. 

Cabrera got Detroit on the board again in the fifth when he rounded all bases on a ball that didn’t make it past the infield grass.

Cabrera hit a sharp liner back at Friedrich whose glove got a piece of the ball, but a throwing error on the play at first allowed Cabrera to move all the way to third. Things didn’t get better for Colorado when catcher Wilin Rosario committed the second throwing error of the play attempting to pin Cabrera out at third. Instead, he allowed him to trot home and score—better known in the baseball world as a “Little League Home Run.”

Albeit with errors and not counting as a stat-line homer, Cabrera hit two of the most opposing home runs possible and scored twice for the Tigers.

Austin Jackson also contributed to Detroit’s opportunities on the basepaths, working Colorado pitching for four walks on the day and an RBI. Ramon Santiago also chipped in with two hits on the day to equaling Cabrera as the only Tigers with two hits on the day. 

Detroit, 6-4 in their last 10 games, is inching back toward the top of the AL standings, and now, sit only three games under .500 and 3.5 games back of divisional leader Chicago. Chicago is 3-7 in their last 10 having lost three straight after entering June as the hottest team in baseball.

The Tigers will close their three-game series with Colorado tomorrow. The rubber match will pit Colorado’s Jeremy Guthrie (3-5) against Detroit’s Max Scherzer (5-4) who hasn’t lost a game in his last three starts and will look to lower his 5.76 ERA en route to a third straight series victory for the Tigers.

Detroit will finish out interleague play with a three-game set against the defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals before hitting the road to face the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Box score stats provided by mlb.com.

Bleacher Report Featured Columnist J. Cook is a member of B/R’s MLB Coverage Team and contributes to B/R’s MLB content and Detroit Tigers page. He also covers key sport interest stories for all of Detroit’s major sports teams.

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April behind them, the Detroit Tigers kicked off the month of May with a much-needed homestand victory. Jim Leyland and crew defeated the Kansas City Royals 9-3 at Comerica Park following Monday’s rain out, which shortened the series to two games. The game will be made up September 24.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Tigers at home behind an outstanding effort by Rick Porcello. The Tigers’ 23-year-old starter won his second game of the season and evened his overall record at 2-2. He is now 5-2 lifetime against the Royals and 11-4 in the month of April.

Porcello’s sinker led to eight effective innings on the mound, striking out three and inducing 14 ground-ball outs. Porcello didn’t allow a walk and was in command of the strike zone throughout the night, never needing more than 16 pitches in any one inning to finish off the opposition.

The maturing Porcello’s only real nemesis on the night was the Royals’ talented outfielder Jeff Francoeur, who nabbed three hits on the night. Jarrod Dyson also drove a shot deep to the right-center gap that nearly led to an inside-the-park home run for the Royals, but he was held up at third and didn’t challenge a play at the plate.  

The Tigers are now a perfect 4-0 against the Royals this season. 

Porcello got plenty of help from the Tigers offense which produced 14 hits and plated nine runs. The Tigers jumped on K.C.’s Luke Hochevar and chased the Royals starter from the game in the fourth inning.

Austin Jackson went 4-for-5 at the dish, including a double, stolen base, and two RBI. Jackson continues to be the catalyst of the Tigers offense. It was Jackson’s third four-hit game of the season, while Miguel Cabrera, Andy Dirks and Jhonny Peralta each chipped in two hits. Peralta also had two RBI and Cabrera and Dirks both mashed doubles in a powerful Detroit hitting attack.

Injured Tigers star Victor Martinez was in the clubhouse and on the bench for the game, and may have helped spark the resurgence of a Detroit offense that has been relatively quiet. Martinez is aiming for a September return from his knee injury.

Porcello also received some assistance via multiple spectacular defensive plays by Prince Fielder and Don Kelly, who sparkled in the field and at the plate for in Detroit’s Tuesday night victory.

Jackson also made a brilliant play late in the game, robbing a home run and forcing a ground-rule double instead by reaching over the fence to make an amazing snatch.

A strange play that Tigers manager Jim Leyland argued, and appeared could have been called an out. The deep fly bounced off the padded yellow top rail of the left-center fence, and then up and over at an angle that allowed Jackson to snatch it from beyond the fence and bring it back into play. 

Unfortunately, Dirks had to exit the game following his double in the bottom of the fourth when it appeared he tweaked an already existing hamstring issue. 

The Tigers are now 12-11 on the season, and the Royals fall to 6-16.

Detroit will finish up the shortened series with a Wednesday matinée featuring Tigers ace Justin Verlander, who will seek his third win of the season in six starts. The Royals will run out Jonathan Sanchez who sports a 6.75 ERA and is 1-1 on the season.

The Chicago White Sox will open a weekend series in the Motor City on Friday following Thursday’s scheduled day off.

Bleacher Report Featured Columnist J. Cook is a member of B/R’s MLB Coverage Team and contributes to B/R’s MLB content and Detroit Tigers page. He also covers key sport interest stories for all of Detroit’s major sports teams.

Follow J. Cook on Twitter: Follow @JCookBR

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This afternoon Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett got to pay witness to what is likely to become the best show in baseball—Miguel Cabrera followed by Prince Fielder. 

It wasn’t his finest hour, Beckett’s that is. For Cabrera and Fielder it was the beginning of what is sure to be a fantastic array of towering home runs and line-drive rockets taking exit from the playing fields coming to an American League ball park near you. 

Beckett seemed to battle Tigers hitters that fell after Fielder’s place in the lineup, having stretches of eight and five hitters in a row retired, but nearly each time Cabrera or Fielder’s number came due at the plate, Beckett’s ERA paid a price. 

Cabrera and Fielder along with fellow teammate Alex Avila took Beckett deep five times and knocked him out of the game after just a 4 2/3 innings effort. Becket gave up seven runs before exiting following back-to-back home runs to Cabrera and Fielder in the bottom half of the fourth. 

Both Cabrera and Fielder hit differing home run shots, Cabrera’s first, a two-run shot that brought home Austin Jackson left the park with ease. Fielder showed his strength pushing a towering home run to the opposite left field fence and the onslaught was on.

Cabrera smashed a floater that was first ruled a ground-rule double after it was questioned whether the ball snuck under fencing on the fly and not over the fence. Replay clearly showed that the ball cleared the outfield wall and then bounced back into the fence where it became lodged.

Cabrera’s second homer of the season was followed by a laser off of Fielder’s bat and the Tigers had the first of what is sure to be many back to back displays this summer. 

Mixed in there was a two-run shot off the bat of Avila, also an opposite field bomb, bringing home Delmon Young who had singled earlier in the fourth inning. Young and Avila both finished the day with two hits for the Tigers. 

Avila chipped in two RBI to go with Cabrera’s three and Fielder’s two as the three sluggers combined to knock in seven of the Tigers’ 10 runs on the day. 

The only thing that didn’t go well for the Tigers on Saturday afternoon was starting pitcher Doug Fister’s left side injury. Fister was cruising along in the fourth inning having scattered three hits when he pulled himself from the game due to the injury. 

The injury to Fister has placed him on the 15-day disabled list and has now been reported as a left costochondral strain, according to MLB.com beat writer Jason Beck. Reliever Brayan Villarreal has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo.

Instead, the Tigers would have to rely on their bullpen to carry the day. The pen was as good as anyone could ask, and then some.

Duane Below who a week ago lost out on the Tigers’ No. 5 rotation spot to Drew Smyly provided a solid effort in relief and earned his first Major League win as a result of his 2 1/3 scoreless innings. 

The rest of Detroit’s bullpen staff held serve and kept the Red Sox in check for the most part, scattering four hits over 5 1/3 innings of work. Octavio Dotel, Phil Coke and Joaquin Benoit each chipped in to assist Below’s efforts and left Boston shutout on the day. 

It was, however, a day of what Tigers fans will expect to see with great regularity as the weather warms up and their biggest sluggers get comfortable in their northern digs—Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder hitting the ball to the farthest reaches of Comerica Park’s deep alleys and tight lines.

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Alas, Carlos Guillen‘s 36-year-old body could take no more. After three disappointing seasons riddled with injury along the stretch of a 14-year MLB career, the former Tiger has announced his retirement.

Fox News and USA Today confirmed Guillen’s retirement.

Guillen signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners organization during the offseason after the Tigers declined to make an offer for his services. Guillen played in only 177 games for the Tigers over the past three seasons, and only 28 last season after undergoing microfracture knee surgery as well as sustaining a wrist injury.

Guillen spent the longest stretch of his career in Detroit, arriving in 2004 after spending his first six major league seasons with Seattle. 

His career in the Tigers organization was prosperous during his first five seasons with the club. Over that stretch he was a three-time All-Star (2004, 2007, 2008) and twice hit .320 for the season (2005, 2006). In his eight seasons as a Tiger he holds a career batting average of .297.

In 1,305 career games, Guillen never struck out more than 96 times in a season. He was a specimen at the plate and battled pitchers deep in the count, content with fouling pitches off until he got the one he liked. He finishes his career with a .355 OBP and .443 slugging percentage.

Guillen initially signed with the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent in 1992. He was traded to Seattle as part of the deal that sent Randy Johnson to Houston on July 31, 1998. The Mariners traded him to Detroit in January 2004.

Tigers fans will remember Guillen best for his performance in the 2006 World Series after an outstanding season, hitting 41 doubles, 19 home runs and 85 RBI. Against the Cardinals he hit .353 over five games during the Tigers’ World Series loss.

Guillen may have left Detroit this winter, but Tigers fans will always have a place for him in their hearts.

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