PHILADELPHIA _ Spencer Turnbull arrived in the Detroit Tigers' clubhouse on Tuesday afternoon to a pair of baseball bats on his chair.
Hours later, he opted for the dark one over the light.
Turnbull went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts but did his job on the mound, pitching six solid innings against the Phillies in a 3-1 win.
The Tigers won with the same formula they started the season: Strong pitching and enough hitting.
Niko Goodrum's towering two-run home run to right field in the top of the third gave the Tigers the win. Neither team scored afterward.
Turnbull was his usual effectively wild self, hitting two batters, but Philadelphia did not hit him hard at all. There was rare hard contact, lots of movement, and little traffic on the bases.
Turnbull allowed one run on three hits. He walked two batters and struck out five. With the performance, Turnbull dropped his season ERA to 2.53, tied for 12th best in the major leagues.
Miguel Cabrera hit an RBI single in the third inning and the bullpen trio of Victor Alcantara, Joe Jimenez and Shane Greene locked the game down.
It was Greene's 12th save.
