Seven-run fifth lifts Tigers over Marlins, 7-5

Adam Conley’s domination of the Tigers started in mid-March.

On that day, just before a Florida rainstorm washed away a Grapefruit League game in Jupiter, Fla., Conley, the young Marlins left-hander, struck out all six batters he faced.

“He picked up right where he left off here tonight,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said.

On Tuesday night at Comerica Park, Conley struck out the side in the first inning. Again in the second inning. He was cruising by the fifth inning. But when the fifth hit, so too did the Tigers - and Conley’s dominance came crashing down in a big way.

With one out in the fifth inning, the Tigers turned the tables on Conley, cracking him for five runs in five batters – including two home runs – in a seven-run inning that propelled them to a 7-5 win over the Marlins.

Playing lazily from the get-go, overpowered by Conley’s sling-shot delivery, the Tigers awoke when Jose Iglesias hit a two-run home run to left-centerfield.

Iglesias’ third home run of the season was a no-doubter. He hit it hard, put his head down and rounded the bases. It was set-up by a four-pitch walk from Mike Aviles with one out.

Conley had previously allowed three baserunners in the first four innings.

Ian Kinsler followed with a double and Cameron Maybin walked before Conley tried to sneak a full-count change-up past Miguel Cabrera to strike him out for the third time in the game. He couldn’t, and Cabrera crushed it to deep leftfield for a three-run home run and a 5-3 lead.

“You can tell today Miggy kind of went into battle mode with two strikes,” Ausmus said. “And then he left an off-speed pitch up in the zone and Miggy can hit those as far as anyone.”

It was Cabrera’s 17th home run of the season. With the home run, Cabrera has now homered against every team in the major leagues. He is the 12th active player to do so.

"It's more big because we get the lead on that home run and more special because we won the game," Cabrera said.

And it was plenty of run support for righty Mike Pelfrey, whose spot in the Tigers rotation was stabilized hours earlier when manager Brad Ausmus announced Anibal Sanchez would be moved back to the bullpen. Pelfrey allowed 13 baserunners in five innings; he did not pitch well. But he limited the damage to four runs, despite shoddy defense, as the Tigers committed three errors behind him.

“I think overall I wasn’t very good,” he said. “It was a constant grind and battle.”

Pelfrey’s big blemish was a two-run home run by Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton, hit into the shrubs in dead centerfield.

But the biggest play of the game – bigger than the Cabrera home run that took the lead – came three batters after Stanton’s blast, after the Marlins loaded the bases with nobody out in the second inning with three singles.

“(Tigers pitching coach Rich Dubee) came out and told me to limit the damage,” Pelfrey said. “And he walked off and I asked myself, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do that.’”

He did it by inducing a groundball double play off the bat of Adeiny Hechavarria, before Ichiro Suzuki grounded out and Miami’s threat was over.

Said Ausmus: “The biggest play, without a doubt. To me, that turned the game around, really. If we don’t get that double play right there, I think it’s a completely different game.”

Said utilityman Mike Aviles: “It’s pretty easy when you’re down early to let the snowball keep rolling and he was able to stop it.”

Nick Castellanos added a two-run homer in the fifth, off right-hander Nick Wittgren, who had replaced Conley.

The Tigers stopped their three-game losing streak with an offensive ambush in the fifth inning and once again, had a good bullpen effort bridge the gap to Francisco Rodriguez, who picked up his 21st save in the ninth inning.

“I think a lot of people, they get so emotional and so caught up in one particular game or series,” Ausmus said. “You win four in a row and you’re supposed to get fitted for World Series rings and you lose four in a row and the season is over. I think the people involved in the game are a little more tempered because we’ve been through the swings. There have been some swings here.”

And with so many swings in the fifth inning, the Tigers showed how quickly they can change.

Contact Anthony Fenech: afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.