GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: DETROIT (32-24) at TEXAS (20-37)

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - PITCHING CHANGE
TEX: ERIC GAGNE (1-0, 0.75) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 4, TEXAS 7

DUE UP FOR DETROIT: O INFANTE (.329, 2-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: E Gagne relieved A Otsuka.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 4
TEXAS 7 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR DETROIT: O Infante (.329, 2-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 9 0
TEXAS 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 x 7 11 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: DET - NATE ROBERTSON, JASON GRILLI (1ST), ZACH MINER (5TH), TIM
BYRDAK (7TH), FERNANDO RODNEY (8TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

TEX - JOHN RHEINECKER, WILLIE EYRE (4TH), JOAQUIN
BENOIT (6TH), AKINORI OTSUKA (8TH), ERIC GAGNE (9TH) AND
GERALD LAIRD

HOME RUNS: DET - BRANDON INGE (9) OFF JOHN RHEINECKER IN THE 4TH, 0 ON

TEX - VICTOR DIAZ (8) OFF NATE ROBERTSON IN THE 1ST, 3 ON</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 9 0
TEXAS 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 x 7 11 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: DET - NATE ROBERTSON, JASON GRILLI (1ST), ZACH MINER (5TH), TIM
BYRDAK (7TH), FERNANDO RODNEY (8TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

TEX - JOHN RHEINECKER, WILLIE EYRE (4TH), JOAQUIN
BENOIT (6TH), AKINORI OTSUKA (8TH), ERIC GAGNE (9TH) AND
GERALD LAIRD


WP - WILLIE EYRE (2-2)
LP - NATE ROBERTSON (4-6)
SAVE - ERIC GAGNE (5)

HOME RUNS: DET - BRANDON INGE (9) OFF JOHN RHEINECKER IN THE 4TH, 0 ON

TEX - VICTOR DIAZ (8) OFF NATE ROBERTSON IN THE 1ST, 3 ON


TIME: 3:25 ATT: 32,003

PROBABLES: DET - JUSTIN VERLANDER (5-2, 3.44)
TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD (2-4, 6.69)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">DETROIT (4) VS TEXAS (7) - FINAL

DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
O Infante cf 4 0 2 0 1 1 0 .325
P Polanco 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .329
G Sheffield dh 2 0 0 1 3 0 2 .263
M Ordonez rf 4 0 1 1 0 1 5 .360
C Guillen ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 7 .311
I Rodriguez c 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .295
M Thames 1b 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .259
C Monroe lf 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 .253
B Inge 3b 4 2 2 2 0 0 2 .225

Totals 33 4 9 4 5 4 24

BATTING: HR - B Inge (9, 4th inning off J Rheinecker 0 on, 0 Out). SF - M
Ordonez. RBI - B Inge 2 (21), G Sheffield (33), M Ordonez (53). Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - I Rodriguez 2, C Guillen 2. GIDP - C Monroe, B Inge.
Team LOB - 9.


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Hairston Jr cf 4 1 1 0 1 1 1 .235
M Young ss 4 1 4 1 1 0 0 .269
M Teixeira 1b 3 1 0 0 2 2 4 .297
S Sosa dh 4 1 1 1 0 0 3 .245
V Diaz rf 4 1 1 4 0 3 2 .294
M Byrd lf 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .342
I Kinsler 2b 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 .241
G Laird c 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .232
R Vazquez 3b 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 .300

Totals 34 7 11 7 4 10 16

BATTING: 2B - M Young (19, T Byrdak). 3B - M Byrd (1, N Robertson). HR - V Diaz
(8, 1st inning off N Robertson 3 on, 0 Out). SF - I Kinsler. RBI - S Sosa (43),
V Diaz 4 (20), I Kinsler (28), M Young (30). 2-out RBI - M Young. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - M Byrd 1, J Hairston Jr 1, M Teixeira 2. Team LOB
- 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - I Kinsler 2 (10, 2nd base off F Rodney/I Rodriguez, 3rd
base off F Rodney/I Rodriguez).

FIELDING: DP: 2 (M Young-I Kinsler-M Teixeira, R Vazquez-I Kinsler-M
Teixeira).


----------------------------------------------------
DETROIT - 030 100 000 -- 4
TEXAS - 600 000 01x -- 7
----------------------------------------------------

DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
N Robertson (L, 4-6) 0 4 6 6 2 0 1 5.07
J Grilli 4 3 0 0 0 5 0 5.72
Z Miner 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 2.38
T Byrdak 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.13
F Rodney 1 2 1 1 1 2 0 4.91

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Rheinecker 3 7 4 4 4 1 1 12.00
W Eyre (W, 2-2) 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 2.70
J Benoit (H, 6) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.41
A Otsuka (H, 4) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.49
E Gagne (S, 5) 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.69

N Robertson pitched to 6 batters in the 1st.
J Rheinecker pitched to 3 batters in the 4th.

WP - F Rodney. HBP - P Polanco (by J Rheinecker). Pitches-strikes: N
Robertson 30-15; J Grilli 64-42; Z Miner 35-24; T Byrdak 17-8; F Rodney 27-16;
J Rheinecker 74-42; W Eyre 28-19; J Benoit 22-13; A Otsuka 16-11; E Gagne
21-10. Ground balls-fly balls: N Robertson 0-0; J Grilli 1-6; Z Miner 3-1; T
Byrdak 0-2; F Rodney 0-1; J Rheinecker 6-2; W Eyre 3-2; J Benoit 4-2; A Otsuka
1-1; E Gagne 1-1. Batters faced: N Robertson 6; J Grilli 15; Z Miner 7; T
Byrdak 5; F Rodney 6; J Rheinecker 20; W Eyre 7; J Benoit 6; A Otsuka 3; E
Gagne 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Jerry Crawford. 1B--Brian O'Nora. 2B--Adam Dowdy. 3B--Tom
Hallion.

T--3:25. Att--32,003.
Weather: 87 degrees, clear. Wind: 9 mph, in from
center.</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
DETROIT 4
TEXAS 7 FINAL</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DETROIT (4) AT TEXAS (7) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TEXAS 1ST: J Hairston Jr singled to left. M Young walked, J Hairston Jr to
second. M Teixeira walked, J Hairston Jr to third, M Young to second. S Sosa
singled to left, J Hairston Jr scored, M Young to third, M Teixeira to second.
V Diaz homered to center, M Young, M Teixeira and S Sosa scored. M Byrd
tripled to deep right center. J Grilli relieved N Robertson. I Kinsler hit
sacrifice fly to center, M Byrd scored. G Laird flied out to right. R Vazquez
struck out swinging. (6 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 6.

DETROIT 2ND: M Thames singled to left. C Monroe singled to right, M Thames
to second. B Inge singled to center, M Thames scored, C Monroe to second.
O Infante singled to left, C Monroe to third, B Inge to second. P Polanco struck
out swinging. G Sheffield walked, C Monroe scored, B Inge to third, O Infante
to second. M Ordonez hit sacrifice fly to center, B Inge scored. C Guillen
grounded out to second. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, TEXAS 6.

DETROIT 4TH: B Inge homered to left. O Infante walked. P Polanco hit by
pitch, O Infante to second. W Eyre relieved J Rheinecker. G Sheffield fouled
out to first. M Ordonez struck out swinging. C Guillen flied out to center.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 8TH: F Rodney relieved T Byrdak. I Kinsler singled to center.
I Kinsler stole second. G Laird struck out swinging, I Kinsler stole third.
R Vazquez struck out swinging. J Hairston Jr walked. M Young singled to center,
I Kinsler scored, J Hairston Jr to second. J Hairston Jr to third, M Young to
second on wild pitch by F Rodney. M Teixeira lined out to left. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 7.</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DETROIT (4) AT TEXAS (7) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Detroit Starting Lineups -- O Infante CF, P Polanco 2B, G Sheffield DH,
M Ordonez RF, C Guillen SS, I Rodriguez C, M Thames 1B, C Monroe LF, B Inge 3B,
N Robertson LHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- J Hairston Jr CF, M Young SS, M Teixeira 1B, S Sosa DH,
V Diaz RF, M Byrd LF, I Kinsler 2B, G Laird C, R Vazquez 3B, J Rheinecker LHP.

Umpires -- Jerry Crawford (HP), Brian O'Nora (1B), Adam Dowdy (2B), Tom Hallion (3B).

Gametime Weather: 87 degrees, Clear, wind in from center at 9 mph.


DETROIT 1ST: O Infante singled to center. P Polanco grounded into
fielder's choice to third, O Infante out at second. G Sheffield walked,
P Polanco to second. M Ordonez singled to right, P Polanco to third, G Sheffield
to second. C Guillen popped out to second. I Rodriguez grounded into
fielder's choice to second, M Ordonez out at second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: J Hairston Jr singled to left. M Young walked, J Hairston Jr to
second. M Teixeira walked, J Hairston Jr to third, M Young to second. S Sosa
singled to left, J Hairston Jr scored, M Young to third, M Teixeira to second.
V Diaz homered to center, M Young, M Teixeira and S Sosa scored. M Byrd
tripled to deep right center. J Grilli relieved N Robertson. I Kinsler hit
sacrifice fly to center, M Byrd scored. G Laird flied out to right. R Vazquez
struck out swinging. (6 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, TEXAS 6.

DETROIT 2ND: M Thames singled to left. C Monroe singled to right, M Thames
to second. B Inge singled to center, M Thames scored, C Monroe to second.
O Infante singled to left, C Monroe to third, B Inge to second. P Polanco struck
out swinging. G Sheffield walked, C Monroe scored, B Inge to third, O Infante
to second. M Ordonez hit sacrifice fly to center, B Inge scored. C Guillen
grounded out to second. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 2ND: J Hairston Jr grounded out to pitcher. M Young singled to
right. M Teixeira struck out swinging. S Sosa flied out to right. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, TEXAS 6.

DETROIT 3RD: I Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop. M Thames walked.
C Monroe grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, M Thames out at
second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 3RD: V Diaz struck out swinging. M Byrd singled to left. I Kinsler
bunt popped out foul to catcher. G Laird popped out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) DETROIT 3, TEXAS 6.

DETROIT 4TH: B Inge homered to left. O Infante walked. P Polanco hit by
pitch, O Infante to second. W Eyre relieved J Rheinecker. G Sheffield fouled
out to first. M Ordonez struck out swinging. C Guillen flied out to center.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 4TH: R Vazquez struck out swinging. J Hairston Jr flied out to
right. M Young singled to center. M Teixeira struck out looking. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 6.

DETROIT 5TH: I Rodriguez singled to center. M Thames grounded out to
pitcher, I Rodriguez to second. C Monroe singled to deep right, I Rodriguez to
third. B Inge grounded into double play, third to second to first, C Monroe
out at second.(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 5TH: Z Miner relieved J Grilli. S Sosa grounded out to third. V Diaz
struck out looking. M Byrd flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 4, TEXAS 6.

DETROIT 6TH: J Benoit relieved W Eyre. O Infante grounded out to third.
P Polanco lined out to left. G Sheffield grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 6TH: I Kinsler grounded out to shortstop. G Laird reached on bunt
single to third. R Vazquez grounded out to first, G Laird to second.
J Hairston Jr struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 6.

DETROIT 7TH: M Ordonez grounded out to first. C Guillen flied out to
center. I Rodriguez grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 4, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 7TH: T Byrdak relieved Z Miner. M Young doubled to deep left center.
M Teixeira walked. S Sosa flied out to left. V Diaz struck out swinging.
M Byrd flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 6.

DETROIT 8TH: A Otsuka relieved J Benoit. M Thames flied out to center.
C Monroe struck out swinging. B Inge grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 8TH: F Rodney relieved T Byrdak. I Kinsler singled to center.
I Kinsler stole second. G Laird struck out swinging, I Kinsler stole third.
R Vazquez struck out swinging. J Hairston Jr walked. M Young singled to center,
I Kinsler scored, J Hairston Jr to second. J Hairston Jr to third, M Young to
second on wild pitch by F Rodney. M Teixeira lined out to left. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 7.

DETROIT 9TH: E Gagne relieved A Otsuka. O Infante struck out swinging.
P Polanco lined out to right. G Sheffield walked. M Ordonez grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, G Sheffield out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 4, TEXAS 7.</div>

 

Diaz's grand slam powers Rangers past Tigers

<h3>TEXAS 7, DETROIT 4</h3>ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- One inning was enough to help theTexas Rangers end their woes at home.

Victor Diaz belted a grand slam in a six-run first inning tolead the Rangers to a 7-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Michael Young went 4-for-4 and drove in a run for the Rangers,who snapped a five-game losing streak at home and won for justthe third time in 13 games.

The Rangers also received stellar work from their bullpen afterstarter John Rheinecker lasted just three-plus innings in hisseason debut.

A trio of relievers combined on five innings of scoreless reliefbefore Eric Gagne worked around a two-out walk in the ninth forhis fifth save, ending the Tigers' two-game winning streak.

Willie Eyre (2-2) worked two innings for the victory.

The Rangers rocked Tigers starter Nate Robertson (4-6), who didnot record an out and was gone after facing just six batters insuffering his third straight loss. Robertson had been awful oflate, going 1-4 with a 7.01 ERA in his previous five starts.This had been one of his favorite venues, as Robertson enteredwith a 3-0 career mark and 1.71 ERA at Texas.

Instead, he quickly loaded the bases in the first on a singleand consecutive walks.

Sammy Sosa brought in the first run with a single and Diazfollowed by belting a grand slam for an early 5-0 lead. Thatgave Diaz six hits, including three homers, and 11 RBI in hislast 10 at-bats.

Robertson yielded a triple to the next batter, Marlon Byrd, andwas removed in favor of Jason Grilli, who gave up a sacrificefly to Ian Kinsler for an early 6-0 cushion.

The final line for Robertson: six runs, four hits and two walks.It was the first time the Rangers had knocked a pitcher fromthe game in the first inning without retiring a batter since1989.

The Tigers came right back against lefthander Rheinecker in thesecond inning.

Detroit strung together four consecutive singles to open theinning, with Brandon Inge driving in the first run. GarySheffield walked to plate the second run and Magglio Ordonez cutthe deficit in half with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3.

Inge belted a leadoff homer in the fourth before Rheineckerwalked Omar Infante and hit Placido Polanco with a pitch, whichprompted manager Ron Washington to call for Eyre.

Rheinecker was charged with four runs and seven hits inthree-plus innings. He walked four and struck out one.

Texas added an insurance run in the eighth off Fernando Rodneywhen Young singled home Kinsler for a 7-4 lead.

 

Diaz's grand slam powers Rangers past Tigers

<h3>TEXAS 7, DETROIT 4</h3>ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- One inning was enough to help theTexas Rangers end their woes at home.

Victor Diaz belted a grand slam in a six-run first inning tolead the Rangers to a 7-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Michael Young went 4-for-4 and drove in a run for the Rangers,who snapped a five-game losing streak at home and won for justthe third time in 13 games.

"This is a good team although we haven't played like it," Texasoutfielder Marlon Byrd said. "We have to take the opportunitywe've been given here to put some kind of a run together."

The Rangers also received stellar work from their bullpen afterstarter John Rheinecker lasted just three-plus innings in hisseason debut.

A trio of relievers combined on five innings of scoreless reliefbefore Eric Gagne worked around a two-out walk in the ninth forhis fifth save, ending the Tigers' two-game winning streak.

"We've been behind so much this year that it's been hard to getour game-closing guys enough work," Rangers catcher Gerald Lairdsaid. "Eyre looked unbelievable tonight and (Joaqun) Benoitcame in and kept us in the game after a tough outing on Sundayin Seattle.

"We've just got to put ourselves in a position to get (Akinori)Otsuka and Gagne the ball more often."

Willie Eyre (2-2) worked two innings for the victory. Heallowed two hits and struck out one batter.

"Eyre's really meant a lot to this team especially when yourstarting pitchers can't get you five or six innings," Rangersmanager Ron Washington said. "He's been a savior but hopefullythe starting rotation will get itself together and start gettingus to at least the sixth inning."

The Rangers rocked Tigers starter Nate Robertson (4-6), who didnot record an out and was gone after facing just six batters insuffering his third straight loss.

Robertson had been awful of late, going 1-4 with a 7.01 ERA inhis previous five starts. This had been one of his favoritevenues, as Robertson entered with a 3-0 career mark and 1.71 ERAat Texas.

Instead, he quickly loaded the bases in the first on a singleand consecutive walks.

Sammy Sosa brought in the first run with a single and Diazfollowed by belting a grand slam for an early 5-0 lead. Thatgave Diaz six hits, including three homers, and 11 RBI in hislast 10 at-bats.

Robertson yielded a triple to the next batter, Byrd, and wasremoved in favor of Jason Grilli, who gave up a sacrifice fly toIan Kinsler for an early 6-0 cushion.

"I must be honest and admit that I wanted more at that point,"Washington said. "That's a good hitting team we were playingand I wanted to put up as many as I could and then their reliefcorps came in a shut us down until the ninth."

The final line for Robertson: six runs, four hits and two walks.It was the first time the Rangers had knocked a pitcher fromthe game in the first inning without retiring a batter since1989.

"I felt pretty strong going in tonight," Roberston said."There's nothing hindering me physically. This is easily justthe worst stretch I've been through in the big leagues. I'm notgetting them to swing and miss. They're just fouling offpitches and fouling off pitches."

The Tigers came right back against lefthander Rheinecker in thesecond inning.

Detroit strung together four consecutive singles to open theinning, with Brandon Inge driving in the first run. GarySheffield walked to plate the second run and Magglio Ordonez cutthe deficit in half with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3.

Inge belted a leadoff homer in the fourth before Rheineckerwalked Omar Infante and hit Placido Polanco with a pitch, whichprompted Washington to call for Eyre.

"When the game got to 6-4 in the fourth and Rheinecker had twomen on the bases, I didn't want to let the game get away fromus," Washington said. "It was Eyre, Benoit, Gagne and Aki(Otsuka) that kept this one from getting away."

Rheinecker was charged with four runs and seven hits inthree-plus innings. He walked four and struck out one.

Texas added an insurance run in the eighth off Fernando Rodneywhen Young singled home Kinsler for a 7-4 lead.