Seattle manager Eric Wedge intentionally walked Victor Martinez twice — and still watched his team lose on an extra-base hit by the Detroit slugger.

Miguel Cabrera homered, Austin Jackson hit a two-run single and the Detroit Tigers held on despite a short-handed bullpen, beating the Seattle Mariners 6-2 on Tuesday night.

DETROIT – Joe Saunders was much better against Detroit than he was in his previous start. Then the Tigers broke through in the sixth inning – a frustrating finish for the veteran left-hander.

ST. LOUIS – Seattle right-hander Erasmo Ramirez says he must return to the basics. “I need to concentrate and throw more strikes,” he said. “It’s that simple.”

ST. LOUIS – Could the talk of “The Big Three” live again? Mercifully, for the sake of the members of that now defunct moniker, let’s hope it does not. For the Seattle Mariners’ trio of pitching prospects – Taijuan Walker, James Paxton and Danny Hultzen – the nickname unfairly dubbed on them during the 2012 spring training became more burden than boast, leading to elevated expectations and unrealistic hopes for them to be in the big leagues by the 2012 season.

On Saturday night with 41,374 fans crammed into Busch Stadium in St. Louis, James Paxton delivered a stellar performance, tossing six shutout innings, allowing two hits, while striking out five and walking two to lead the Mariners to a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The win snapped a five-game Seattle losing streak. “He was really good again today, obviously against a very good ball club in their backyard with a big crowd in the middle of September,” manager Eric Wedge said of Paxton. “It was nice to see him step up like that.” Paxton has allowed one run in two starts and 12 innings pitched.

ST. LOUIS – The perils of a youth-dominated Seattle Mariners team were on display for all to see in the crucial moments of this record-setting, extra-inning defeat. Mariners catcher Mike Zunino failed to corral an Oliver Perez pitch in the 10th inning Friday night, allowing the decisive run to score in a 2-1 defeat against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pete Kozma scored on catcher Mike Zunino’s passed ball with the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals retook the NL Central lead with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

Jonathan Villar homered on the first pitch of the game and the Houston Astros coasted to a 13-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.