DETROIT -- Lloyd McClendon spent last fall hoping to get a chance to manage in a pennant race at Comerica Park. Jerome Simpson . He got his wish Friday night, even if it wasnt exactly the way he had envisioned things. McClendon had hoped to become the Tigers manager when Jim Leyland retired after winning three straight AL Central titles, but general manager Dave Dombrowski picked Brad Ausmus over Leylands longtime hitting coach. McClendon ended up managing the Mariners instead, and made his return to Comerica Park with a 7-2 victory. After the game, though, he didnt want to make a big deal out of his first game back or the fact that the win moved Seattle a half-game ahead of Detroit in the race for the second AL wild card. "This was the first win of the series," he said. "Other than that, no, it was no more significant than another game." Ladner, B.C., native James Paxton (3-0) was the star for Seattle, pitching six innings and allowing one run on five hits. Robinson Cano homered, and he and Logan Morrison each scored twice as Seattle won its fifth straight and ninth in 11 games. "That kid has a really nice downward angle on his fastball, and you end up hitting a lot of grounders and choppers off him," Ausmus said. "We actually hit some balls hard, but it seemed like they all went to the shortstop (Chris Taylor), and he just kept making play after play." The Tigers dropped 1 1/2 games behind first-place Kansas City in the AL Central, thanks to a 12-17 stretch since the All-Star break. "Obviously, wed rather be in first place by 15 games, but were not," Ausmus said. "Theres nothing we can do about what weve done up until now. You just go out tomorrow and try to start winning games again." Rick Porcello (13-8) struggled badly in his first appearance since pitching the final three innings of Detroits 19-inning loss in Toronto on Sunday. After a five-start stretch in which he had a 1.75 ERA, the 25-year-old righty gave up six runs -- five earned -- and 10 hits in six innings. He didnt walk a batter, but struck out only three. "The game in Toronto had nothing to do with what happened tonight," he said. "I had plenty of time to get ready for this start, and I prepared just like I always do. I just didnt pitch well." Seattle jumped out to a quick three-run lead in the second. Following a leadoff single and a hit batter, Morrison and Endy Chavez each hit an RBI single. Taylor bunted for a single, loading the bases with none out, but ex-Tiger Austin Jackson grounded into a double play, helping Porcello to escape only down 3-0. An inning earlier, Jackson received a long standing ovation when he led off his first game at Comerica Park since the trade-deadline deal that sent him to Seattle and brought ace pitcher David Price to the Tigers. "That was a special moment for me," said Jackson, a fan favourite in Detroit for his defence in centre field. "Once the game started, it was business as usual, but that was fun." Cano made it 4-0 with a long homer on the first pitch of the third. After the Tigers got on the board in the bottom half, Taylor restored the four-run lead with an RBI single in the fourth, and Detroit never threatened again. "The run in the fourth was the one that really frustrated me, because we were still within 4-1, and with this offence, thats manageable," Porcello said. "Our guys were battling out there, and I couldnt keep them in the game." MIXED-UP BOBBLEHEAD The Tigers gave away Miguel Cabrera bobbleheads that depict him holding his two MVP trophies. The only problem? The trophies say "Most Valuable Player, National League", which would be news to Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen, who won the 2012 and 2013 NL MVP awards, respectively, while Cabrera was winning in the AL. UP NEXT The Tigers and Mariners square off again Saturday night with a marquee pitching matchup. Price (11-8) will make his third start for Detroit, and Seattle counters with Felix Hernandez (12-3). Hernandez, who made his major league debut at Comerica Park, is 9-0 in his last 11 starts against the Tigers, but will be facing Price for the first time. TRAINERS ROOM Mariners: With the big lead, Cano left in the eighth inning, partially as a precaution after fouling a pitch off his foot early in the game. He isnt expected to miss any time. ... OF Michael Saunders (oblique) resumed his rehab stint with Triple-A Tacoma after missing time for the birth of his child. In five games with Tacoma, he was hitting .353 with a .542 on-base percentage. Tigers: RHP Justin Verlander (shoulder) isnt scheduled to pick up a baseball until Tuesday, when he will try some short tossing. Ausmus said Verlanders schedule will be based entirely on how he feels then, but the hope is still that he will start next Friday in Minnesota. MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT Tigers reliever Melvin Mercedes made his major league debut with two perfect innings, needing just 23 pitches. He became the 11th player to make his debut with the Tigers this season. Linval Joseph . The U.S. is 7-1-1 all-time in the Presidents Cup, with wins in each of the last four matchups against the Internationals. Get set for the competition with the Presidents Cup Preview Show on TSN, today at 2pm et/11am pt. Josh Robinson . Ibrahimovic calmly slotted the ball into the left side of the net in the 52nd minute of a game that Sweden largely controlled but failed to dominate. Ola Toivonen gave Sweden the lead in the 23rd minute after a blunder by goalkeeper Branimir Aleksic, but Neven Subotic equalized just four minutes later with a header from a corner.OYONNAX, France -- French rider Tony Gallopin led a late breakaway in a show of opportunism and savvy racing to win Wednesdays 11th stage of the Tour de France as Italys Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall lead. The peloton returned to action after the races first rest day with the 187.5-kilometre (116.3-mile) ride from Besancon to Oyonnax, not far from the Swiss border. The stage featured four small- to medium-sized hills near the end. In the stages mini-drama, American Andrew Talansky, struggling through pain from crashes earlier in the race, dropped out of the pack and rode solo much of the day. In a show of grit, he finished some 32 minutes back -- enough to qualify to ride another day under race rules. Gallopin, who wore the yellow jersey for a day before Nibali recaptured it, first tried to break away with about 13 1/2 kilometres (8.4 miles) left but got reeled in. Then, in a late flurry, with less than 3 kilometres to go, the Lotto-Belisol rider tried again. This time, it worked. He chiseled out a lead of several seconds and, desperately pedaling, held off a surging pack in the final several hundred meters. Gallopin won by several bike lengths, just enough for him to have time to lift his arms in celebration, panting. "Incredible," said Gallopin of his first Tour stage win. "I came to train for the Tour de France here ... that really served me today. "Its really a victory that feels good." The top standings didnt change, because Nibali finished in the pack with the same time as Gallopin. Astana team leader Nibali has a lead of 2 minutes, 23 seconds over Australias Richie Porte, in second. Brandon Fusco. Alejandro Valverde of Spain was third, another 24 seconds back. Gallopin was in fifth, 3:12 behind Nibali. With such a margin and the strong form he has shown so far, Nibali is looking well-positioned for possible victory when the race ends in Paris on July 27. But tough days lie ahead: in the Alps later this week, and the Pyrenees mountains in Week Three. Talansky, in pain after two crashes twice in recent days, dropped back from the peloton more than halfway through the stage. At one point, he stopped and sat down on a roadside guard rail. French TV first counted him out, as did some observers on Twitter. But in a show of heart, and with encouragement from his team sports director Robert Hunter, Talansky got back on his bike, wiped his eyes and continued. Now he was racing against the clock. Under race rules, which require riders to finish within a certain time of the stage winner, he had to finish within 37 minutes of Gallopin. Talansky did that with about five minutes to spare, said Jean-Francois Pescheux, a top race official. The Garmin-Sharp team leader, who won the Criterium du Dauphine stage race last month, was seen as a potential podium contender before this Tour. But Talansky fell largely out of contention for that prospect in Stage 10, when he had the second of two crashes in this race. As Wednesdays stage began, he was nearly 15 minutes back of Nibali in 26th place. Riders head off on another day featuring four small- to mid-sized climbs on Thursday, with a 185.5-kilometre (115-mile) 12th stage from Bourg-en-Bresse to Saint-Etienne. ' ' '
