Detroit-Oakland: While Cabrera Goes Yard Thrice, Tigers Lose Opener to Athletics

After what could be construed as a successful west-coast road trip, the Detroit Tigers came home Friday to face the Oakland A's.

And lost 5-4.

Miguel Cabrera supplied all of the offense for Jim Leyland's club.

Yes, all of it.

Each of the four runs the Tigers put on the board were due to Cabrera's heavy bat. The three-round-tripper contest was the first for a Tiger since Dmitri Young did it against the Kansas City Royals on Opening Day in 2005.

After the offensive spectacle that was the opening game of the Tigers' Memorial Day weekend series with the Athletics, Cabrera is the current RBI-leader in Major League Baseball with 44. He is tied for third in the bigs with 13 home runs.

We'll have to see what Texas' Vlad Guerrero ends up doing against the Twins tonight in regard to most runs driven in.

Dontrelle Willis was again inconsistent. So what's new?

This is his third consecutive quality start. Those words are used in jest, of course.

The D-Train that is Willis gave up nine hits in just over five innings, and was pelted for three earned runs.

The Tigers' bullpen wasn't much of a help either. Phil Coke has been nearly automatic for much of the season, but he had a rough two-thirds of an inning, giving up two hits to leave Ryan Perry in a predicament.

Perry then pegged Oakland's Mark Ellis to load the bases. It was game, set and match after that.

On the bright side, Detroit's resident-DL second baseman Carlos Guillen has made his triumphant return. Danny Worth, who played just eight games for Leyland was sent packing to Triple-A Toledo to clear a spot on the roster for Guillen.

Guillen, who is coming off a hamstring injury, looked like the player of old. He was quick, his glove and arm were strong, and he even managed to turn two a couple of times.

He adds another potent bat to the lineup, something that the Tigers are in desperate need of right about now.

Brandon Inge has been on a month-long slide, and catcher Alex Avila and shortstop Adam Everett can't buy a hit.

They're suffering from a virus that tends to strike clubhouses when a team is in a race for first. It's diagnosis can be tricky, but physicians have dubbed it "can't-hit-for-crap-itis." Hopefully Leyland gets his boys vaccinated.

And soon.

The Tigers are 25-22, and two games behind American League Central leading Minnesota Twins.