Tigers Snap Rangers' Streak At 10, Beat Texas 9-3
Follow The Fan: Facebook | Twitter
DETROIT (AP) — Alex Avila, Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez hit consecutive home runs in the first inning, and the Detroit Tigers beat Texas 9-3 on Saturday night, ending the Rangers' 10-game winning streak.
Nicholas Castellanos added a three-run homer in the third, and Justin Verlander (4-3) pitched seven solid innings for the Tigers. The Rangers were on their longest winning streak since a 12-game run in 2011, but it ended emphatically against Detroit.
A.J. Griffin (4-1) allowed nine runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Cabrera homered in his first at-bat after missing three games with a strained oblique, but Detroit second baseman Ian Kinsler left the game in the fifth with left hamstring tightness. The team said he was taken out for precautionary reasons.
Jonathan Lucroy homered for the Rangers.
Detroit hit three consecutive homers for the first time since June 1, 2013, at Baltimore, when Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta and Avila did it. The three solo shots Saturday gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead, and they added four more runs in the third.
Kinsler raced home from third on Cabrera's grounder to the mound, taking off when Griffin threw to first and narrowly beating the throw back to the plate. Castellanos made it 7-0 later in the inning with a drive to right.
Nomar Mazara hit a two-run double for the Rangers in the fourth, but Avila drove in two with a double in the bottom half.
Lucroy hit a solo shot in the sixth.
Verlander allowed three runs and four hits. He walked one and struck out five against a Texas team that had scored at least five runs in each of its previous eight games.
(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
