Miggy HRs, but 'can't be satisfied' with loss

DETROIT -- The swing looked easy for Miguel Cabrera, even if it still looks a bit strange on him. The losses never will.

“It’s about results,” Cabrera said simply after his solo homer provided half the Tigers’ offense in a 7-2 loss to the Mariners on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.

That’s the dichotomy the reigning veteran Tiger has to battle right now. He’s trying to get his game back in order while also trying to help a young team along. Though his bat has picked up the past couple weeks, the wins haven’t followed.

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When asked if he’s satisfied with the changes he has made with his swing and the ability to play every day, Cabrera shakes his hand.

“Can't be satisfied right now,” Cabrera said. “We're losing too many games.”

The lower-body strength that allowed Cabrera to crush home runs to the opposite field with his quick swing is tempered by his chronic right knee injury. His new swing almost looks like that of a golfer, as he puts weight on his healthier front leg.

Yet the Tigers’ slugger sent a 418-foot drive out to left field on Thursday afternoon for a two-run homer, providing most of the velocity off a Tommy Milone changeup. It couldn’t help power Detroit to a series win; the loss to the Mariners clinched a third consecutive losing season with 43 games (plus one suspended tilt) to go. But it provides some hope that Cabrera has a finishing kick to what has been a frustrating season for him.

While Cabrera’s homer was his ninth on the year, four of those have happened in his past 15 games. He went 15 games without a homer before sending a ball to the rocks beyond center field at Angel Stadium on July 29. His three home runs in August are already his highest total for a month this season, to go with a .308 average (16-for-52) and eight RBIs.

Cabrera’s average exit velocity has crept up in August as well, mainly on sinkers, sliders and curves. His exit velocity off changeups was actually down for the month before he sent Milone’s offspeed offering out at 107.3 mph, tying his hardest-hit home run of the season.

“You see him a couple times when he takes a check swing or something, he's pulling on the [knee] brace and feeling it a little bit,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “But I think he's doing really well with the way his stance is now, what he and [hitting coach] Lloyd [McClendon] have worked on. He's able to push a little bit better. He's doing a lot more arm swinging, trying to take the pressure off, too. I think you guys see that he's barreling up a lot of balls, he's using the whole field.”

Thursday’s home run also moved Cabrera out of a tie with Carlos Delgado for 33rd on the MLB all-time list. With 474 home runs, Cabrera is one big fly away from reaching Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Willie Stargell.

Cabrera’s homer followed Dawel Lugo’s sacrifice fly in a two-run fourth. He nearly added more; his 403-foot launch out to straightaway center in the sixth inning sent speedy outfielder Keon Broxton on a mad dash to run it down just shy of the warning track and deny him a potential game-tying double.

The Mariners pulled away from there, adding four runs off the Tigers’ bullpen on top of a three-run third against Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull. Though Turnbull (3-11) struck out seven of his first nine batters, his struggles out of the stretch contributed to three consecutive third-inning hits, all off curveballs and sliders. Kyle Seager’s two-run double provided the bulk of the damage.

It was a frustrating result for Cabrera, who has played all but one game in August as he tries to help Detroit’s lineup following Nick Castellanos’ trade to the Cubs. What had been a regular practice of Cabrera not playing day games after night games is now a choice left up to him. He wants to play.

“We text him before he gets to the park and see how he's doing, on day games especially,” Gardenhire said. “He wants to play, so that means he's feeling good and moving around. … These day games after night games are a little tough, but he wants to play right now, which is important to us.”

Cabrera is trying to set a tone, lead by example, and not just be a walking milestone tracker as he nears his late 30s. If he can finish strong and strengthen his lower body in the offseason, he could go into next season with a chance at his 500th career home run. But Cabrera is more focused on winning more games. He hopes the prospects in the Tigers’ system can eventually lend a hand.

“We have to look at the whole picture, not only the guys we have here,” Cabrera said. “We have to look at the picture in the Minor Leagues here. It's what they're doing right now, try to bring good teams from the Minor Leagues all the way to the big leagues. I think we have good prospects in the Minor Leagues, and hopefully they can be here soon.”