Ibanez Puts Hurt on Tigers Again

Raul Ibanez doesn’t know why he has had so much success against the Tigers.

Ibanez hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 3-1 victory over the Tigers on Friday night at Detroit. It was his 11th home run against Detroit, three more than he has hit against any other team.

“I can’t explain it -- it doesn’t even feel like I’ve had that kind of luck against them,” he said. “Look at tonight -- I hadn’t done a thing until I finally got the barrel of the bat on that last pitch.”

Scott Spiezio led off the 10th with a single off Al Levine (2-1), and after Bret Boone popped out, Ibanez hit a fly that landed just over the left-field fence. It was his fifth homer of the season.

“It seems like every homer that Raul hits is a big one for us,” Seattle Manager Bob Melvin said.

“He’s done it a lot this year, that’s for sure.”

Last season, Ibanez batted .361 against Detroit as a member of the Royals.

Eddie Guardado pitched the 10th for his fourth save. Former Tiger Mike Myers (1-1) got the victory.

Cleveland 11, Baltimore 2 -- Travis Hafner had four runs batted in and Cliff Lee’s strong start helped relieve a struggling Indian bullpen in a victory at Cleveland.

Lee (3-0) gave up one run and five hits in seven innings while giving most of the Indians relievers another day to rest. Cleveland’s frazzled bullpen gave up five runs in the ninth on Wednesday.

Oakland 4, Tampa Bay 2 -- Erubiel Durazo hit a pair of two-run homers at St. Petersburg, Fla., to help the Athletics end a six-game losing streak.

Durazo homered in the fifth and seventh innings for the Athletics, who were coming off sweeps by the Angels and Yankees. It was Durazo’s eighth multihomer game.

Toronto at Chicago, ppd. -- The game involving the Blue Jays and White Sox was rained out and rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader today.

Boston at Texas, ppd. -- The game involving the Red Sox and Rangers was rained out and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader today.