Grilli cooks up delectable story by beating M’s

DETROIT – Jason Grilli has had a fairly memorable September.

After winning the clinching game in the Toledo Mud Hens’ International League championship, Grilli was called up to the Detroit Tigers.

Grilli’s Detroit debut came on Sept. 19, 30 years to the day after his father Steve’s major league debut, also with the Tigers.

With his dad in the crowd Saturday night, he had another highlight, beating the Seattle Mariners 7-1 in his first start for the Tigers.

“You couldn’t script anything better than this,” he said. “To win this game, wearing my dad’s number with him watching from the stands, that’s just extra special. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s getting the game ball.”

The Tigers snapped an eight-game losing streak, improving to 5-19 in September.

“It’s been a tough, difficult month,” Tigers manager Alan Trammell said. “But we won tonight, so I feel great.”

The Mariners fell to 3-7 on their season-high 11-game road trip.

Grilli (1-0) won for the first time since Sept. 11, 2004, for the Chicago White Sox, allowing one run and two hits. He walked four and struck out four.

“Jason did an outstanding job for us,” Trammell said. “I’m sure he’s happy, and I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Grilli gets a chance to make his month more successful when he faces his former team on Thursday.

“You always love pitching against your old team, and now I can try to play spoiler against the White Sox,” he said. “That would be a great way to finish the year.”

Jamie Moyer (12-7) took the loss, allowing three runs – all on solo homers – on five hits in 7 1/3 innings. The three homers matched a season high for Moyer, who gave up a club-record 44 last season.

“I thought I kept us in the game,” Moyer said. “Three solo homers, and it is only 3-1, so you’ve still got a chance. What else can you do?”

After Chris Shelton hit his 17th homer in the first, Seattle tied the game in the second. With one out, Adrian Beltre walked, took third on Greg Dobbs’ single and scored on Jose Lopez’s single to left.

Grilli, though, did not allow another hit.

Craig Monroe, a late addition to the lineup in place of Magglio Ordonez, homered off Moyer in the fourth and Placido Polanco hit his sixth homer with the Tigers in the sixth.

“Today was a day when I was going to relax and it ended up working out for me,” Monroe said. “I got a chance to swing the bat and get some more confidence. That’s a good day off.”