SEATTLE (AP) - Justin Verlander threw six strong innings, Michael Hollimon hit his first big league home run and the Detroit Tigers hung on to beat the Seattle Mariners 8-4 Thursday night.
Matt Joyce, promoted from Triple-A Toledo on May 5 and recalled Sunday, had a pair of doubles among his career-high four hits. Ivan Rodriguez added three RBIs as the Tigers pounded out 15 total hits.
The hard-throwing Verlander allowed two runs on eight hits to win for the sixth time in seven career starts against Seattle. After starting the season in a slump, Verlander (5-9) hasn't lost since June 6.
Carlos Silva, who signed a four-year, $48 million free agent deal in the offseason, lost for the 10th time in 18 starts. He's been at his worst against the Tigers, allowing 17 runs in 9 2-3 innings covering three starts.
Ichiro Suzuki had three hits for the second straight game to reach 1,700 for his career, one of 30 active players to eclipse that mark. He's hitting .516 over his past seven games.
Suzuki opened with a single to right, then cruised to third when Verlander tried to pick him off but wound up throwing the ball down the first base line. Suzuki eventually came home on Jose Lopez's single to left.
The Tigers responded in the third on Placido Polanco's run-scoring single, but the Mariners jumped ahead again in their half of the inning. Lopez opened with a double into the left-field corner, and after moving up on Raul Ibanez's grounder came home when Jose Vidro checked his swing and knocked a slow roller toward third that worked out like a squeeze play.
The Tigers tied it again in the fourth on Rodriguez's RBI single, then took the lead in the fifth with three-runs off Silva (4-10).
Curtis Granderson opened with a triple into the left-center gap and scored on Carlos Guillen's infielder grounder. Joyce and Gary Sheffield added RBI singles to make it 5-2.
Hollimon, called up on June 6, hit his milestone homer into the center-field seats on a 0-1 pitch from Silva in the sixth, and Rodriguez added a two-out, two-run single in the ninth.
Vidro and Adrian Beltre each drove in runs to chase Todd Jones in the ninth. Fernando Rodney entered and retired Jeff Clement on a fly to left for his first save in two opportunities.
Notes:@ The Mariners announced the signing of second-round draft pick Dennis Raben, a 20-year-old outfielder from the University of Miami. The 66th overall pick, Raben was hampered by injuries but still hit .292 with 10 homers and 51 RBIs in 53 games this season. He will report to Class-A Everett. ... Jeremy Reed made an outstanding diving catch in center field to take a hit away from Sheffield in the second. ... During his pregame session with reporters, Tigers manager Jim Leyland said "it's a possibility" when asked if Joel Zumaya could be a starter next season. ... Leyland said that he may flip the starts of Verlander and Eddie Bonine next week, starting Verlander on Tuesday and Bonine the following day.