By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Final: Tigers 5, Phillies 4 ❖ Attendance: 26,400
Detroit, MI – The Phillies couldn't hold on to a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the fifth as the Tigers offense used four solo home runs en route to a 5-4 win tonight at Comerica Park. Highlighting the home run party was Miguel Cabrera, who hit two solo blasts in the victory. The teams combined for 24 hits and six home runs. The Phils fall to 14-4 in one-run games with the loss.
On the pitching end of things for the Phillies, Vince Velasquez failed to make it past five innings for the second straight start and has not thrown more than six innings since he tossed a complete game shutout back on April 14. Since then, he has a 3.86 ERA spanning seven starts. Offensively, Philadelphia got strong performances from a number of guys. Maikel Franco, Tommy Joseph, Tyler Goeddel, Cameron Rupp and Odubel Herrera each had multi-hit efforts. In Herrera's fourth at-bat, a groundout to the pitcher, he didn't run it out and was benched by skipper Pete Mackanin.
Veteran first baseman Ryan Howard continued to struggle though, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He hasn't hit a single since April 29 and his average is down to .156.
The Phillies continue their three-game series with the Tigers on Tuesday night at 7:10 pm. Jeremy Hellickson will match up against Justin Verlander.
WP: Justin Wilson (1-1, 4.50 ERA) ❖ LP: Colton Murray (0-1, 1.74 ERA) ❖ SV: Francisco Rodriguez (13)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| DET | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 5 | 12 | 1 |
The Phillies got on the board first in the third. Tyler Goeddel led off the inning with a single. He moved to second on a Peter Bourjos grounder before scoring on an RBI-single from Odubel Herrera to make it a 1-0 game.
Detroit got the run right back in the bottom half of the third. With two down, Miguel Cabrera took Velasquez's offering over the wall in right-center field for a solo homer, his 10th of the season, to tie the game at 1-1. The Tigers nearly added another run with two outs. Nick Castellanos doubled to deep left center field and Victor Martinez rounded third to head home, but strong relay throws from Odubel Herrera and Freddy Galvis gunned him down at the plate to keep things tied at one.
Maikel Franco got the run right back in the fourth for the Phils with a solo homer to center field, his eighth of the season. Tommy Joseph made some good contact in the inning as well, ripping his first big league double to right center field. He was stranded at third to end the inning.
The Tigers missed a golden opportunity in the bottom of the fourth. Steven Moya singled to lead off and Cameron Maybin followed with a single, reaching second on a throwing error from Herrera, putting runners on second and third with none out. James McCann and Jose Iglesias grounded out before Velasquez got Ian Kinsler to fly out, ending the threat.
Tyler Goeddel started off the fifth with a single, his second hit of the night. Two hitters later, Odubel Herrera singled, moving Goeddel to third. Cesar Hernandez followed with a sac fly, plating Goeddel, to make it a 3-1 Phils advantage.
Detroit took the lead via the solo homer in the bottom of the frame J.D. Martinez and Miguel Cabrera went back-to-back, chasing Vince Velasquez from the game. Colton Murray didn't fare much better. After getting Victor Martinez to ground out, Nick Castellanos hit a solo homer of his own, the third of the inning for Detroit. Just like that, the Tigers took a 4-3 lead.
Philadelphia came back to tie it with a solo home run of their own in the top of the sixth. After a Ryan Howard strikeout, Tommy Joesph slugged his second homer of the season to lock things up at four a piece.
In the bottom of the seventh, Detroit took the lead for good. Miguel Cabrera doubled with one out and made it to third during the next at bat on a wild pitch. Victor Martinez looped a single into right, scoring Cabrera to make it a 5-4 game. Detroit's bullpen wouldn't relinquish the lead, sending the Phillies to their third loss in the last four games.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vince Velasquez | 4.0 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2.75 |
| Mike Pelfrey | 6.0 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5.55 |
Phillies
- Tommy Joseph: 2-4, 2B, HR, R, RBI, K, .300 AVG
- Maikel Franco: 2-3, HR, R, RBI, BB, .255 AVG
- Odubel Herrera: 3-4, RBI, .335 AVG
Tigers
- Miguel Cabrera: 3-3, 2B, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, .327 AVG
- Victor Martinez: 3-4, RBI, .340 AVG
- Nick Castellanos: 2-3, HR, R, RBI, BB, .346 AVG
Phillies
- Colton Murray: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 K, 1 HR, 1.74 ERA
- Andrew Bailey: 1.0 IP, 2 K, 3.27 ERA
Tigers
- Justin Wilson: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K, 4.50 ERA
- Mark Lowe: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K, 6.61 ERA
- Francisco Rodriguez: 1.0 IP, 2 K, 3.24 ERA
What's Next
- Tuesday, May 24th, 2016: at Detroit, 7:10 p.m.
- Detroit, MI – Comerica Park
- RHP Jeremy Hellickson (4-2, 3.99 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (3-4, 4.58 ERA)
- TV: CSN, MLB.TV; Radio: 94 WIP
