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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
DETROIT (AP) -- Coming home is what baseball is all about, even
when it's a new house.
Gregg Jefferies and Bobby Higginson each drove in two runs as
Detroit beat the Seattle Mariners 5-2 Tuesday at Comerica Park, the
Tigers' first home game in 104 years that wasn't at the corner of
Michigan and Trumbull.
|  | | Tigers second baseman Greg Jefferies avoids the slide after forcing out Alex Rodriguez at second base. |
"That was nice," said first baseman Tony Clark, who made the
game's key defensive play in the sixth. "Now it's all over and
they can't change anything. This is home. It feels good to break in
with a win at our new home."
Opening a ballpark with a win has become a Detroit tradition.
The Tigers, then in the Western League, routed Columbus 17-2 in the
Bennett Park opener on April 28, 1896. When Navin Field, later
called Tiger Stadium, opened on the same site on April 20, 1912,
Detroit beat Cleveland 6-5.
Comerica Park, built at a cost of $300 million in downtown
Detroit, has all the amenities, from statues of Ty Cobb and Al
Kaline, to luxury suites and a carousel, yet it also seemed to
satisfy the baseball purists.
"It's a beautiful stadium," said Seattle's John Olerud, whose
first-inning double was Comerica's first hit. "And it's big. I
thought there were some balls today that definitely would have been
home runs in the old Tiger Stadium."
Before a capacity crowd of 39,168 on a cold afternoon that
featured a steady drizzle, players wore parkas -- with hoods up --
under their uniforms. Their breath was visible in vapors -- like
football players on a November day.
Brian Moehler (1-1), who started and won the final game at Tiger
Stadium, gave up 10 hits and one walk, but allowed just two runs --
one earned -- in six innings.
"It's was an honor to be able to pitch this game," Moehler
said. "I guess I'll go down in the record books. I would have
wanted this, win or lose."
Freddy Garcia (1-1) gave up five runs and six hits in six
innings. The Tigers only scored five runs off Garcia all season in
1999.
"I got two strikes on a lot of guys early, but I couldn't find
my strikeout pitch," Garcia said. "They hit a few dribblers on
me, and then I made a big mistake to Higginson. I left a pitch out
and up, and he killed it. That was two runs right there."
While the ballpark was full when the game began, a 40-degree
temperature and the rain caused more than half the fans to leave
after an inning or two.
Despite the new surroundings, once plate umpire Rick Reed yelled
"Play ball!" at 1:18 p.m., the game was about as it has been for
over a century.
Luis Polonia tripled to start the two-run first and scored
Comerica's first run when Jefferies, starting in place of injured
Damion Easley, singled to right.
Garcia, who beat the Tigers three times last year in three
different parks -- the Kingdome and Safeco Field in Seattle, and
Tiger Stadium -- walked the bases loaded, then balked on a 1-2 count
to Karim Garcia forcing Jefferies across.
Karim Garcia took a called third strike ending the first inning
moments later, triggering a minor exodus of fans who either had
seen enough or couldn't take much more of the weather. Only about
15,000 remained by the ninth inning.
Detroit made it 4-0 in the second when Juan Encarnacion singled,
Polonia walked and Bobby Higginson, the subject of trade rumors all
spring, tripled them home.
"It wasn't just hitting," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said.
"Today was a tough day to field and a tough day to pitch. It was
really miserable out there. But, it was miserable for both teams.
That's not an excuse."
Moehler gave successive doubles to Dan Wilson and Carlos Guillen
as the Mariners made it 4-1 in the fourth.
Seattle closed to 4-2 with an unearned run in the fifth when
John Olerud was able to score from first after after Encarnacion
let Jay Buhner's single to center skip under his glove and roll to
the warning track for an error.
Jefferies had an RBI single in the sixth.
"I tell you, it was great," Jefferies said. "All the fans
were freezing, and they were out there. We said, "If they can be
out there, we can be out there, too."
Notes: John Ralph, a representative from the Hall of Fame, said
four items from the game will end up in Cooperstown. They are:
Olerud's bat, a ball used in the game (but not the one used for the
first pitch), Moehler's cap and Detroit manager Phil Garner's
lineup card. ... This marked the 100th opener in Detroit since the
American League received major league status in 1901, with the
Tigers a charter member. ... Todd Jones pitched the ninth for his
second save. ... Buhner, leading off the second with a grounder to
first, stepped on the back of Moehler's right foot as the pitcher
was covering the bag. It looked serious at first, but Moehler
remained in the game. ... Jefferies had not played more than three
innings at second base since 1991. ... Clark made a good defensive
play in the sixth, diving to snag Mark McLemore's liner, then
beating Guillen back to the bag for a double play.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Detroit Clubhouse
Tigers christen Comerica Park in winter conditions
RECAPS
Boston 13
Minnesota 4
Detroit 5
Seattle 2
Texas 0
NY Yankees 0
Chi. White Sox 13
Tampa Bay 6
Kansas City 7
Baltimore 5
Anaheim 5
Toronto 4
Cleveland 5
Oakland 1
Los Angeles 6
San Francisco 5
Montreal 7
Pittsburgh 3
St. Louis 10
Houston 6
Cincinnati 10
Colorado 3
San Diego 3
Arizona 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Todd Jones appreciates the fans in Detroit.
wav: 112 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Tony Clark says the good guys were the first winners at Comerica Park.
wav: 141 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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