OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Jeremy Bonderman was supposed to be overmatched. Instead, he overmatched the Oakland Athletics.
Bonderman outdueled American League Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito to record his first major league victory as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Athletics, 4-1, for their second win in 19 games.
After losing his first three starts while compiling a 10.22 ERA, Bonderman (1-3) looked like a different pitcher at Oakland.
The 20-year-old righthander held the Athletics to one run and and three hits over eight innings, striking out five without a walk. He retired 17 straight batters entering the eighth and departed after throwing 64 of 102 pitches for strikes.
"I did think I had a job before me because I was facing Barry Zito," Bonderman said. "He's such a good pitcher. But I wasn't scared to throw against him."
"We knew the odds were against us tonight coming into face a defending Cy Young pitcher," Tigers manager Alan Trammell said. "Especially when it's Barry Zito. He can really pitch."
Bonderman also gained a measure of revenge against his former organization. He was dealt with first baseman Carlos Pena to Detroit in a three-team trade last August.
Matt Anderson walked Mark Ellis to start the bottom of the ninth before retiring the next three batters for his second save.
Zito (3-2) lost for just the second time in 24 career decisions at Network Associates Coliseum, yielding two runs and five hits in seven innings. He walked three and struck out two.
"If I had done my job correctly tonight we would have won," Zito said. "My stuff wasn't there in the early innings. And when I found it, it was too late."
Bonderman, one of the game's bright prospects, did not pitch above Class A last season. But he made the rebuilding Tigers' roster in spring training and has taken his lumps, getting ripped for 15 runs and 23 hits over 12 1/3 innings in his first three starts.
But using a good fastball and offspeed stuff in his repertoire, Bonderman kept the A's off balance the entire night. He allowed a two-out single to Terrence Long in the second and did not allow another baserunner until Long tripled with one out in the eighth.
"I thought Bradon (Inge) called a great game for me," Bonderman said. "He's the reason I did so well. My keys tonight were that I was in control and I was on. When that's happening you're in a good space on the mound."
Bonderman also had flawleess control, going to a three-ball count on just three batters the entire night while recording 15 outs via the ground ball.
"I told him in the pregame meeting to go after them on the first pitch," Inge said. "The A's hitters are known as liking to work the count. I wanted to take that away from them. If we could break that pattern, we would have a chance."
"Getting that lead was the best thing in the world for him," Trammell said. "Bonderman got 15 ground ball outs tonight and that says a lot. I think he learned something in his last start. He learned pitching is a process. He learned to subtract something from each pitch when he has to."
A's manager Ken Macha also thought Bonderman pitching ahead in the count was big.
"Bonderman's keys were that he got ahead in the count, and never let us in the game," Macha said. "He kept everyone off balance. We kept trying to work the count but he wouldn't let us."
Facing baseball's worst offensive team that had been held to two runs or less in 12 of their first 18 games, Zito looked like he would be in for an easy night after not allowing a hit over the first three innings.
Dmitri Young led off the fourth with a single and rookie Craig Monroe followed by depositing a 1-2 pitch over the center field wall for his first career homer, giving the Tigers the lead.
"It was a fastball, I was hitting on it," said Monroe, who was hitless in his first 11 at-bats this season. "I just happened to be real comfortable up there at the moment he threw it."
Zito scattered three singles over his final three innings but the Tigers extended the lead in the eighth against the Athletics' bullpen.
Jim Mecir, activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, surrendered a leadoff single to Craig Paquette and Young walked. Monroe bounced into a forceout but Dean Palmer, who entered the game hitting just .091, delivered a two-run double into the right-center field gap to make it 4-0.
After Long's triple in the bottom of the inning, Ramon Hernandez plated him with a groundout.
Anderson walked Ellis to start the bottom of the ninth and Scott Hatteberg made a bid for a two-run homer. But right fielder Bob Higginson backed up against the wall and made a leaping catch.
