DETROIT -- The way Justin Verlander saw it, Texas may have been due for a loss.
With three straight homers in the first inning, Verlander's Detroit Tigers set about ending the Rangers' 10-game winning streak.
Alex Avila, Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez hit consecutive home runs, and the Tigers beat Texas 9-3 on Saturday night. Nicholas Castellanos added a three-run homer in the third, and Verlander pitched seven solid innings to hand the Rangers their first defeat since May 8.
"I think you just go tell yourself that they're bound to lose one here sooner or later," Verlander said. "They're not going to win them all, so maybe the odds are on our side."
The Rangers were on their longest winning streak since a 12-game run in 2011, but it came to an emphatic conclusion against Detroit. A.J. Griffin (4-1) allowed nine runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.
"We'll wipe it clean and go out there and begin again," Griffin said.
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 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.
BIGGER ROLE?
Avila had three hits and raised his average to .382. He has five homers and 18 RBI in 25 games, and although he was signed to be a part-time catcher, he played first base Saturday. James McCann was at catcher, Cabrera was the designated hitter in his first game back, and regular DH Martinez missed the game while on the paternity list.
When Martinez comes back, the Tigers may have some interesting decisions to make, with Avila hitting so well.
"If he keeps hitting like this, he's going to play," manager Brad Ausmus said. "We'll figure it out when it happens. Hopefully they're all hitting and it makes it a real problem."
LONG RELIEF
Although they were routed, the Rangers only had to use one reliever. Austin Bibens-Dirkx pitched 4 2/3 innings of one-hit ball.
"He saved the bullpen," Texas manager Jeff Banister said. "If we had to go out there and rescue him that could have caused collateral damage to the bullpen (for Sunday's game)."
ACROBATICS
McCann made a sliding catch near the screen on a foul pop by Mike Napoli in the second, and he leaped to his right to catch Joey Gallo's foul ball in the seventh after overrunning it slightly.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rangers: 3B Adrian Beltre (right calf tightness) ran the bases before the game. "Just kind of doing about 50, 60 percent," he said. "First time running the bases, so I wanted to make sure just to get the feel for it." ... RHP Tyson Ross (thoracic outlet syndrome) came out fine after a bullpen session and is set to pitch Tuesday for Triple-A Round Rock on a rehab assignment. ... RHP Jose Leclerc (bruised right index finger) had an injection Friday and is not expected to re-join the Rangers on this trip.
Tigers: Kinsler left the game because of the same hamstring that kept him out for a week earlier this month.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Yu Darvish (4-2) takes the mound for the finale of this three-game series Sunday night. He allowed one run in seven innings in a win over Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Tigers: RHP Matthew Boyd (2-3) tries to bounce back after allowing seven runs in 2 1/3 innings against Baltimore on Tuesday.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
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Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister
Texas Rangers
With three straight homers in the first inning, Verlander's Detroit Tigers set about ending the Rangers' 10-game winning streak.
Alex Avila, Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez hit consecutive home runs, and the Tigers beat Texas 9-3 on Saturday night. Nicholas Castellanos added a three-run homer in the third, and Verlander pitched seven solid innings to hand the Rangers their first defeat since May 8.
"I think you just go tell yourself that they're bound to lose one here sooner or later," Verlander said. "They're not going to win them all, so maybe the odds are on our side."
The Rangers were on their longest winning streak since a 12-game run in 2011, but it came to an emphatic conclusion against Detroit. A.J. Griffin (4-1) allowed nine runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.
"We'll wipe it clean and go out there and begin again," Griffin said.
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 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.
BIGGER ROLE?
Avila had three hits and raised his average to .382. He has five homers and 18 RBI in 25 games, and although he was signed to be a part-time catcher, he played first base Saturday. James McCann was at catcher, Cabrera was the designated hitter in his first game back, and regular DH Martinez missed the game while on the paternity list.
When Martinez comes back, the Tigers may have some interesting decisions to make, with Avila hitting so well.
"If he keeps hitting like this, he's going to play," manager Brad Ausmus said. "We'll figure it out when it happens. Hopefully they're all hitting and it makes it a real problem."
LONG RELIEF
Although they were routed, the Rangers only had to use one reliever. Austin Bibens-Dirkx pitched 4 2/3 innings of one-hit ball.
"He saved the bullpen," Texas manager Jeff Banister said. "If we had to go out there and rescue him that could have caused collateral damage to the bullpen (for Sunday's game)."
ACROBATICS
McCann made a sliding catch near the screen on a foul pop by Mike Napoli in the second, and he leaped to his right to catch Joey Gallo's foul ball in the seventh after overrunning it slightly.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rangers: 3B Adrian Beltre (right calf tightness) ran the bases before the game. "Just kind of doing about 50, 60 percent," he said. "First time running the bases, so I wanted to make sure just to get the feel for it." ... RHP Tyson Ross (thoracic outlet syndrome) came out fine after a bullpen session and is set to pitch Tuesday for Triple-A Round Rock on a rehab assignment. ... RHP Jose Leclerc (bruised right index finger) had an injection Friday and is not expected to re-join the Rangers on this trip.
Tigers: Kinsler left the game because of the same hamstring that kept him out for a week earlier this month.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Yu Darvish (4-2) takes the mound for the finale of this three-game series Sunday night. He allowed one run in seven innings in a win over Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Tigers: RHP Matthew Boyd (2-3) tries to bounce back after allowing seven runs in 2 1/3 innings against Baltimore on Tuesday.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
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Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister
7:15PM,EDT,May 20,2017
Comerica Park, Detroit,Michigan
Comerica Park, Detroit,Michigan
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Texas - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | TEX | DET |
| Choo struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Andrus lined out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Mazara struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| A.J. Griffin pitching for Texas | TEX | DET |
| Kinsler struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Avila homered to right (395 feet). | 0 | 1 |
| Cabrera homered to right (414 feet). | 0 | 2 |
| J.D. Martinez homered to right center (442 feet). | 0 | 3 |
| Upton struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| Castellanos popped out to second. | 0 | 3 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Texas - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | TEX | DET |
| Lucroy grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 3 |
| Odor lined out to second. | 0 | 3 |
| Napoli fouled out to catcher. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| A.J. Griffin pitching for Texas | TEX | DET |
| Collins flied out to left. | 0 | 3 |
| McCann fouled out to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Iglesias popped out to second. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Texas - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | TEX | DET |
| Gallo flied out to center. | 0 | 3 |
| Hoying lined out to center. | 0 | 3 |
| DeShields fouled out to first. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| A.J. Griffin pitching for Texas | TEX | DET |
| Kinsler singled to shallow right. | 0 | 3 |
| Avila singled to center, Kinsler to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Cabrera grounded out to pitcher, Kinsler scored, Avila to second. | 0 | 4 |
| J.D. Martinez walked. | 0 | 4 |
| Upton flied out to left. | 0 | 4 |
| Castellanos homered to right (375 feet), Avila and J.D. Martinez scored. | 0 | 7 |
| Collins struck out swinging. | 0 | 7 |
| 4 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Texas - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | TEX | DET |
| Choo walked. | 0 | 7 |
| Andrus singled to left, Choo to second. | 0 | 7 |
| Mazara doubled to deep left center, Choo and Andrus scored. | 2 | 7 |
| Lucroy struck out swinging. | 2 | 7 |
| Odor struck out swinging. | 2 | 7 |
| Napoli grounded out to third. | 2 | 7 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| A.J. Griffin pitching for Texas | TEX | DET |
| McCann singled to left. | 2 | 7 |
| Iglesias popped out to second. | 2 | 7 |
| Kinsler singled to left, McCann to second. | 2 | 7 |
| Avila doubled to deep left, McCann and Kinsler scored. | 2 | 9 |
| Bibens-Dirkx relieved Griffin. | 2 | 9 |
| Cabrera struck out swinging. | 2 | 9 |
| J.D. Martinez walked. | 2 | 9 |
| Upton flied out to center. | 2 | 9 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Texas - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | TEX | DET |
| Romine at second base. | 2 | 9 |
| Gallo popped out to shortstop. | 2 | 9 |
| Hoying grounded out to second. | 2 | 9 |
| DeShields singled to right center. | 2 | 9 |
| Choo struck out swinging. | 2 | 9 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Austin Bibens-Dirkx pitching for Texas | TEX | DET |
| Castellanos singled to left. | 2 | 9 |
| Collins flied out to right. | 2 | 9 |
| McCann lined into double play, pitcher to first, Castellanos out at first. | 2 | 9 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Texas - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | TEX | DET |
| Andrus flied out to right. | 2 | 9 |
| Mazara grounded out to second. | 2 | 9 |
| Lucroy homered to left (433 feet). | 3 | 9 |
| Odor hit by pitch. | 3 | 9 |
| Napoli flied out to left. | 3 | 9 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Austin Bibens-Dirkx pitching for Texas | TEX | DET |
| Kozma at shortstop. | 3 | 9 |
| Iglesias popped out to second. | 3 | 9 |
| Romine grounded out to first. | 3 | 9 |
| Avila walked. | 3 | 9 |
| Cabrera grounded out to third. | 3 | 9 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Texas - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | TEX | DET |
| Gallo fouled out to catcher. | 3 | 9 |
| Hoying grounded out to first. | 3 | 9 |
| DeShields fouled out to first. | 3 | 9 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Austin Bibens-Dirkx pitching for Texas | TEX | DET |
| Rua at first base. | 3 | 9 |
| J.D. Martinez flied out to right. | 3 | 9 |
| Upton grounded out to third. | 3 | 9 |
| Castellanos flied out to right. | 3 | 9 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Texas - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Blaine Hardy pitching for Detroit | TEX | DET |
| Hardy relieved Verlander. | 3 | 9 |
| Choo struck out swinging. | 3 | 9 |
| Kozma grounded out to first. | 3 | 9 |
| Mazara fouled out to third. | 3 | 9 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Austin Bibens-Dirkx pitching for Texas | TEX | DET |
| Collins safe at first on throwing error by third baseman Gallo. | 3 | 9 |
| McCann lined out to left. | 3 | 9 |
| Iglesias struck out swinging. | 3 | 9 |
| Romine grounded out to second. | 3 | 9 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Texas - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Chad Bell pitching for Detroit | TEX | DET |
| Bell relieved Hardy. | 3 | 9 |
| Lucroy safe at second on error by left fielder Upton. | 3 | 9 |
| Odor lined out to center. | 3 | 9 |
| Rua lined out to left. | 3 | 9 |
| Gallo walked. | 3 | 9 |
| Hoying struck out looking. | 3 | 9 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
Texas Rangers
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choo DH | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 21 | .252 | .373 | .382 |
| Andrus SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .280 | .328 | .435 |
Kozma SS
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .125 | .263 | .125 |
| Mazara RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | .265 | .333 | .450 |
| Lucroy C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | .272 | .317 | .404 |
| Odor 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .199 | .255 | .351 |
| Napoli 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | .179 | .246 | .391 |
Rua 1B
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .215 | .292 | .385 |
| Gallo 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | .184 | .303 | .504 |
| Hoying CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | .263 | .263 | .474 |
| DeShields LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .284 | .349 | .337 |
| Totals | 32 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 146 | |||
| BATTING 2B: Mazara (10, Verlander) HR: Lucroy (3, 6th inning off Verlander 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: Mazara 2 (31), Lucroy (10) 2-out RBI: Lucroy Rangers RISP: 1-7 (Lucroy 0-1, Napoli 0-1, Hoying 0-1, Odor 0-2, Mazara 1-1, Rua 0-1) Team LOB: 5 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Gallo (8, throw) DP: 1 (Bibens-Dirkx-Napoli). | ||||||||||
Game Notes
| 2B KINSLER (HAMSTRING TIGHTNESS) LEFT GAME TOP 5TH |
Game Information
| Stadium | Comerica Park, Detroit, MI |
| Attendance | 35,166 (84.6% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:58 |
| Weather | 56 degrees, overcast |
| Wind | 12 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Mike Everitt, First Base - Jordan Baker, Second Base - Bill Welke, Third Base - Bruce Dreckman |
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