Tigers 8, Rangers 1
ARLINGTON, Texas (WWJ/AP) - The Tigers take the first two games in the series, as Detroit beats the Texas Rangers 8-1 on Tuesday evening.
As heard on 97.1 The Ticket - the Tigers continue to connect offensively and score 21 runs in the first two games against the Rangers.
Austin Jackson had three of Detroit's season-high 20 hits and Rick Porcello won for the sixth time in his last seven outings to help the Tigers beat the Texas Rangers.
Porcello (6-3) gave up a run over six innings against the AL West-leading Rangers as the Tigers improved to 8-1 in their last nine games. Porcello has allowed less than two runs in five of his last nine starts.
A night after getting 18 hits, Jackson helped Detroit win its fourth straight with three RBIs. The Tigers scored four runs in the fourth off Matt Harrison (5-5). Every Tiger in the lineup had at least one hit, including Casper Wells, Alex Avila, and Victor Martinez, who also had three hits apiece.
Harrison allowed four runs on eight hits in four innings after not allowing a run in his previous 19 2-3 innings.
In the fourth, Raburn's liner to left scored Martinez with the first run of the game. The big blow came on Jackson's two-run single to right.
Jackson appeared to strike out but home-plate umpire Ed Hickox ruled that a fouled third strike hit the ground before going into catcher Mike Napoli's mitt. Replays showed Napoli caught the ball cleanly before Jackson singled two pitches later for a 3-0 lead.
Jackson moved to second when right fielder Nelson Cruz misplayed the ball and scored on Wells' double down the left-field line.
Texas trimmed the deficit to 4-1 in the sixth, stringing together three hits off Porcello. Ian Kinsler scored from third on Michael Young's infield single, but Porcello got Adrian Beltre to line out to short and fanned Cruz with two runners aboard to end the threat.
Detroit added a pair of runs in the sixth on RBI singles from Jhonny Peralta and Raburn. The lead stretched to 7-1 in the eighth when Wells crushed his second double of the night and Miguel Cabrera followed with an RBI-single.
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