DETROIT – Nicholas Castellanos homered and had three hits, Miguel Cabrera got a hit in his return from the disabled list and the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 on Friday night.
Cabrera was 1 for 3 with a walk in his first game since May 4 due to a hamstring injury. JaCoby Jones added two hits and two RBIs for the Tigers, who have won three straight and five of six.
Blaine Hardy (2-0) allowed two runs, three hits and four walks in six innings for Detroit. He struck out three to improve to 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three starts since replacing Jordan Zimmermann in the rotation. Four relievers finished, with Shane Greene pitching the ninth for his 14th save.
Toronto starter Jamie Garcia allowed four runs on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings. The Blue Jays have lost four straight.
The Tigers took the lead in a four-run, ten-batter second. Victor Martinez and James McCann led off with singles, and Jones hit a two-run triple past centre fielder Kevin Pillar’s dive. Leonys Martin followed with a run-scoring groundout to make it 3-0.
Jose Iglesias doubled, stole third and scored on Jeimer Canderlario’s two-out single for Detroit’s fourth run of the inning. Castellanos ended Garcia’s night with another base hit, and Danny Barnes walked Cabrera before retiring Martinez.