GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: DETROIT (32-25) at TEXAS (21-37)

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - PITCHING CHANGE
TEX: FRANK FRANCISCO (0-0, 3.10) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0

DUE UP FOR DETROIT: I RODRIGUEZ (.294, 1-FOR-4, HR, RBI)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: F Francisco relieved C Wilson.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 10
TEXAS 0 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR DETROIT: I Rodriguez (.294, 1-FOR-4, HR, RBI)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 2 0 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 10 14 0
TEXAS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 (BOT 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: DET - BOBBY SEAY
TEX - FRANK FRANCISCO

DUE UP FOR TEXAS: J HAIRSTON JR (.231, 0-FOR-1)
S SOSA (.246, 1-FOR-3)
F CATALANOTTO (.180, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">DETROIT (10) VS TEXAS (0) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS

DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Granderson cf 5 1 2 1 0 2 0 .283
P Polanco 2b 4 3 3 1 0 1 2 .336
N Perez 2b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .167
G Sheffield dh 4 2 3 5 1 0 0 .272
M Ordonez rf 4 0 2 1 0 0 2 .362
a-M Thames ph-rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .256
C Guillen ss 4 1 1 1 1 1 3 .310
I Rodriguez c 5 1 1 1 0 1 3 .293
S Casey 1b 5 0 0 0 0 2 1 .274
C Monroe lf 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 .246
B Inge 3b 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 .227
O Infante 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .325

Totals 41 10 14 10 3 9 13

a-popped out to second for M Ordonez in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - P Polanco (12, K Millwood); M Ordonez (29, K Millwood). 3B - C
Granderson (10, K Millwood). HR - G Sheffield 2 (15, 1st inning off K Millwood
1 on, 1 Out, 3rd inning off K Millwood 1 on, 0 Out), C Guillen (7, 5th inning
off W Littleton 0 on, 0 Out), I Rodriguez (6, 5th inning off W Littleton 0 on,
0 Out). RBI - G Sheffield 5 (38), C Granderson (29), P Polanco (31), C Guillen
(38), I Rodriguez (30), M Ordonez (54). 2-out RBI - G Sheffield, M Ordonez.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - I Rodriguez 1, M Ordonez 1, S Casey
1, C Guillen 1. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Guillen-S Casey).


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
K Lofton cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .258
M Young ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .264
M Teixeira 1b 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 .294
J Hairston Jr 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
S Sosa dh 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 .246
F Catalanotto lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .180
M Byrd rf 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 .375
I Kinsler 2b 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 .238
G Laird c 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .228
C Stewart c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
R Vazquez 3b-1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .302

Totals 27 0 5 0 2 7 10

BATTING: 2B - S Sosa (13, J Verlander). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out
- G Laird 1. GIDP - M Young. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: Picked Off - S Sosa (2nd base, J Verlander).


----------------------------------------------------
DETROIT - 204 121 000 -- 10
TEXAS - 000 000 00 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
J Verlander 7 5 0 0 2 6 0 3.12
B Seay 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.96

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
K Millwood 3 2/3 9 7 7 1 5 2 7.57
W Littleton 3 1/3 4 3 3 1 3 2 4.40
C Wilson 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1.82
F Francisco 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.95

Pitches-strikes: J Verlander 105-62; B Seay 11-8; K Millwood 86-56; W
Littleton 55-31; C Wilson 24-12; F Francisco 12-7. Ground balls-fly balls: J
Verlander 6-8; B Seay 0-2; K Millwood 2-4; W Littleton 4-3; C Wilson 1-1; F
Francisco 2-1. Batters faced: J Verlander 26; B Seay 3; K Millwood 21; W
Littleton 15; C Wilson 5; F Francisco 3.

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

Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 21 mph, in from right.</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - PITCHING CHANGE
DET: TODD JONES (1-3, 6.04) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0

DUE UP FOR TEXAS: J HAIRSTON JR (.231, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: T Jones relieved B Seay.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: DETROIT 10
TEXAS 0 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR TEXAS: J Hairston Jr (.231, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 2 0 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 10 14 0
TEXAS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: DET - JUSTIN VERLANDER, BOBBY SEAY (8TH), TODD JONES (9TH) AND IVAN
RODRIGUEZ

TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD, WES LITTLETON (4TH), C.J. WILSON
(8TH), FRANK FRANCISCO (9TH) AND GERALD LAIRD, CHRIS STEWART
(8TH)

HOME RUNS: DET - GARY SHEFFIELD (14) OFF KEVIN MILLWOOD IN THE 1ST, 1 ON
GARY SHEFFIELD (15) OFF KEVIN MILLWOOD IN THE 3RD, 1 ON
CARLOS GUILLEN (7) OFF WES LITTLETON IN THE 5TH, 0 ON
IVAN RODRIGUEZ (6) OFF WES LITTLETON IN THE 5TH, 0 ON

TEX - NONE</div>

 

Sheffield homers twice as Tigers rout Rangers

<h3>DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0</h3>ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Gary Sheffield's words tend to gethim into trouble. His bat doesn't seem to notice.

Sheffield shook off his most recent controversial comments andclubbed a pair of homers to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 10-0victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.

Justin Verlander (6-2) pitched seven scoreless innings to earnhis sixth win for the Tigers, who have won three of their lastfour games.

Sheffield created some controversy earlier in the week when hesaid to GQ magazine, "What I called is that you're going to seemore black faces, but there ain't no English going to be comingout. ... (It's about) being able to tell (Latin players) what todo -- being able to control them. Where I'm from, you can'tcontrol us."

It seems to have no effect on his hitting, however, as theAll-Star slugger now has three homers and eight RBI over hislast three games.

Sheffield got started right away on Wednesday, clubbing atwo-run blast in his first at-bat off Rangers' starter KevinMillwood.

After Millwood (2-5) worked a 1-2-3 second inning Brandon Ingeled off the Detroit half of the third by drawing a walk and camearound to score on Curtis Granderson's triple. Placido Polancofollowed with an RBI single and Sheffield made Millwood paywith his second two-run blast of the night to push the Tigers'advantage to 6-0.

That was all the breathing room Verlander would need. Thesecond-year righthander dominated the Texas lineup, allowingjust five hits and two walks in seven frames while striking outsix.

Verlander showed no ill effects from his outing last Thursday inwhich he surrendered a season-high seven runs in five inningsin a loss at Cleveland.

Millwood was not quite as fortunate. The Rangers ace was liftedafter just 3 2/3 frames when Sheffield's fifth RBI of the nightpushed the lead to 7-0. The veteran righthander allowed sevenruns and nine hits while walking one and striking out five.

Millwood has made nine starts this season around two trips tothe disabled list, and has last six innings only three times.He has yielded more than three runs in each of his last sixoutings.

Detroit added two more runs in the fifth when Carlos Guillen andIvan Rodriguez led off the inning with back-to-back homers offrighthanded reliever Wes Littleton.

Sheffield's five RBI gave him 1,539 for his career, moving himpast hall-of-famer Joe DiMaggio for 41st place on the all-timelist.

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
DETROIT 2 0 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 10 14 0
TEXAS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: DET - JUSTIN VERLANDER, BOBBY SEAY (8TH), TODD JONES (9TH) AND IVAN
RODRIGUEZ

TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD, WES LITTLETON (4TH), C.J. WILSON
(8TH), FRANK FRANCISCO (9TH) AND GERALD LAIRD, CHRIS STEWART
(8TH)


WP - JUSTIN VERLANDER (6-2)
LP - KEVIN MILLWOOD (2-5)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: DET - GARY SHEFFIELD (14) OFF KEVIN MILLWOOD IN THE 1ST, 1 ON
GARY SHEFFIELD (15) OFF KEVIN MILLWOOD IN THE 3RD, 1 ON
CARLOS GUILLEN (7) OFF WES LITTLETON IN THE 5TH, 0 ON
IVAN RODRIGUEZ (6) OFF WES LITTLETON IN THE 5TH, 0 ON

TEX - NONE


TIME: 2:44 ATT: 28,795

PROBABLES: DET - MIKE MAROTH (3-2, 5.28)
TEX - KAMERON LOE (1-5, 6.37)</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">DETROIT (10) VS TEXAS (0) - FINAL

DETROIT ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Granderson cf 5 1 2 1 0 2 0 .283
P Polanco 2b 4 3 3 1 0 1 2 .336
N Perez 2b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .167
G Sheffield dh 4 2 3 5 1 0 0 .272
M Ordonez rf 4 0 2 1 0 0 2 .362
a-M Thames ph-rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .256
C Guillen ss 4 1 1 1 1 1 3 .310
I Rodriguez c 5 1 1 1 0 1 3 .293
S Casey 1b 5 0 0 0 0 2 1 .274
C Monroe lf 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 .246
B Inge 3b 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 .227
O Infante 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .325

Totals 41 10 14 10 3 9 13

a-popped out to second for M Ordonez in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - P Polanco (12, K Millwood); M Ordonez (29, K Millwood). 3B - C
Granderson (10, K Millwood). HR - G Sheffield 2 (15, 1st inning off K Millwood
1 on, 1 Out, 3rd inning off K Millwood 1 on, 0 Out), C Guillen (7, 5th inning
off W Littleton 0 on, 0 Out), I Rodriguez (6, 5th inning off W Littleton 0 on,
0 Out). RBI - G Sheffield 5 (38), C Granderson (29), P Polanco (31), C Guillen
(38), I Rodriguez (30), M Ordonez (54). 2-out RBI - G Sheffield, M Ordonez.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - I Rodriguez 1, M Ordonez 1, S Casey
1, C Guillen 1. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Guillen-S Casey).


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
K Lofton cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .258
M Young ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .264
M Teixeira 1b 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 .294
J Hairston Jr 3b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
S Sosa dh 4 0 1 0 0 3 0 .245
F Catalanotto lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .178
M Byrd rf 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 .375
I Kinsler 2b 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 .238
G Laird c 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .228
C Stewart c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
R Vazquez 3b-1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .302

Totals 30 0 5 0 2 8 10

BATTING: 2B - S Sosa (13, J Verlander). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out
- G Laird 1. GIDP - M Young. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: Picked Off - S Sosa (2nd base, J Verlander).


----------------------------------------------------
DETROIT - 204 121 000 -- 10
TEXAS - 000 000 000 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

DETROIT ip h r er bb so hr era
J Verlander (W, 6-2) 7 5 0 0 2 6 0 3.12
B Seay 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.96
T Jones 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.79

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
K Millwood (L, 2-5) 3 2/3 9 7 7 1 5 2 7.57
W Littleton 3 1/3 4 3 3 1 3 2 4.40
C Wilson 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1.82
F Francisco 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.95

Pitches-strikes: J Verlander 105-62; B Seay 11-8; T Jones 12-9; K Millwood
86-56; W Littleton 55-31; C Wilson 24-12; F Francisco 12-7. Ground balls-fly
balls: J Verlander 6-8; B Seay 0-2; T Jones 1-1; K Millwood 2-4; W Littleton
4-3; C Wilson 1-1; F Francisco 2-1. Batters faced: J Verlander 26; B Seay 3; T
Jones 3; K Millwood 21; W Littleton 15; C Wilson 5; F Francisco 3.

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

T--2:44. Att--28,795.
Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 21 mph, in
from right.</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
DETROIT 10
TEXAS 0 FINAL</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DETROIT (10) AT TEXAS (0) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DETROIT 1ST: C Granderson struck out swinging. P Polanco doubled to right.
G Sheffield homered to right, P Polanco scored. M Ordonez grounded out to
first. C Guillen struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2,
TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 3RD: B Inge walked. C Granderson tripled to deep right center,
B Inge scored. P Polanco singled to left, C Granderson scored. G Sheffield
homered to left, P Polanco scored. M Ordonez doubled to deep left. C Guillen
lined out to third. I Rodriguez flied out to right. S Casey struck out
swinging. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 6, TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 4TH: C Monroe popped out to first. B Inge singled to left.
C Granderson singled to right, B Inge to third. P Polanco struck out swinging.
G Sheffield singled to right, B Inge scored, C Granderson to second.
W Littleton relieved K Millwood. M Ordonez grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 7, TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 5TH: C Guillen homered to right. I Rodriguez homered to left.
S Casey struck out swinging. C Monroe flied out to center. B Inge grounded out
to second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 9, TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 6TH: J Hairston Jr at third base. R Vazquez at first base.
C Granderson flied out to center. P Polanco singled to center. G Sheffield
grounded out to pitcher, P Polanco to second. M Ordonez singled to left,
P Polanco scored. C Guillen walked, M Ordonez to second. I Rodriguez struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0.</div>

 

AL: DETROIT at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DETROIT (10) AT TEXAS (0) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Detroit Starting Lineups -- C Granderson CF, P Polanco 2B, G Sheffield DH,
M Ordonez RF, C Guillen SS, I Rodriguez C, S Casey 1B, C Monroe LF, B Inge 3B,
J Verlander RHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- K Lofton CF, M Young SS, M Teixeira 1B, S Sosa DH,
F Catalanotto LF, M Byrd RF, I Kinsler 2B, G Laird C, R Vazquez 3B, K Millwood RHP.

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

Gametime Weather: 86 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind in from right at 21 mph.


DETROIT 1ST: C Granderson struck out swinging. P Polanco doubled to right.
G Sheffield homered to right, P Polanco scored. M Ordonez grounded out to
first. C Guillen struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2,
TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: K Lofton flied out to center. M Young struck out swinging.
M Teixeira struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 2ND: I Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop. S Casey flied out to
center. C Monroe struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2,
TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 2ND: S Sosa doubled to left center. F Catalanotto grounded out to
pitcher. M Byrd walked. I Kinsler fouled out to first. S Sosa picked off
second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 2, TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 3RD: B Inge walked. C Granderson tripled to deep right center,
B Inge scored. P Polanco singled to left, C Granderson scored. G Sheffield
homered to left, P Polanco scored. M Ordonez doubled to deep left. C Guillen
lined out to third. I Rodriguez flied out to right. S Casey struck out
swinging. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 6, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 3RD: G Laird struck out looking. R Vazquez reached on infield single
to third. K Lofton singled to right, R Vazquez to second. M Young grounded
into double play, shortstop to first, K Lofton out at second.(0 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 6, TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 4TH: C Monroe popped out to first. B Inge singled to left.
C Granderson singled to right, B Inge to third. P Polanco struck out swinging.
G Sheffield singled to right, B Inge scored, C Granderson to second.
W Littleton relieved K Millwood. M Ordonez grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 7, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 4TH: M Teixeira struck out looking. S Sosa struck out looking.
F Catalanotto grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 7, TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 5TH: C Guillen homered to right. I Rodriguez homered to left.
S Casey struck out swinging. C Monroe flied out to center. B Inge grounded out
to second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 9, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 5TH: M Byrd singled to center. I Kinsler fouled out to catcher.
G Laird fouled out to first. R Vazquez popped out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) DETROIT 9, TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 6TH: J Hairston Jr at third base. R Vazquez at first base.
C Granderson flied out to center. P Polanco singled to center. G Sheffield
grounded out to pitcher, P Polanco to second. M Ordonez singled to left,
P Polanco scored. C Guillen walked, M Ordonez to second. I Rodriguez struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 6TH: N Perez at second base. K Lofton popped out to second. M Young
grounded out to pitcher. J Hairston Jr grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 7TH: S Casey grounded out to second. C Monroe flied out to right.
B Inge struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 7TH: O Infante at third base. S Sosa struck out looking.
F Catalanotto lined out to right. M Byrd singled to left. I Kinsler walked,
M Byrd to second. G Laird flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 10,
TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 8TH: C Wilson relieved W Littleton. C Stewart catching.
C Granderson struck out swinging. N Perez singled to left. G Sheffield walked,
N Perez to second. M Thames hit for M Ordonez. M Thames popped out to second.
C Guillen grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 8TH: M Thames in right field. B Seay relieved J Verlander. R Vazquez
struck out looking. K Lofton flied out to left. M Young flied out to center.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0.

DETROIT 9TH: F Francisco relieved C Wilson. I Rodriguez grounded out to
second. S Casey grounded out to second. C Monroe flied out to right. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 9TH: T Jones relieved B Seay. J Hairston Jr grounded out to second.
S Sosa struck out swinging. F Catalanotto flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0.</div>

 

Sheffield homers twice as Tigers rout Rangers

<h3>DETROIT 10, TEXAS 0</h3>ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Gary Sheffield's words tend to gethim into trouble. His bat doesn't seem to notice.

Sheffield shook off his most recent controversial comments andclubbed a pair of home runs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 10-0victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.

Justin Verlander (6-2) pitched seven scoreless innings to earnhis sixth win for the Tigers, who have won three of their lastfour games.

Sheffield created some controversy earlier in the week when hesaid to GQ magazine, "What I called is that you're going to seemore black faces, but there ain't no English going to be comingout. ... (It's about) being able to tell (Latin players) what todo - being able to control them. Where I'm from, you can'tcontrol us."

It seems to have no effect on his hitting, however, as theAll-Star slugger now has three homers and eight RBI over hislast three games.

Sheffield got started right away Wednesday, clubbing a two-runblast in his first at-bat off Rangers starter Kevin Millwood.

After Millwood (2-5) worked a 1-2-3 second inning, Brandon Ingeled off the Detroit half of the third by drawing a walk and camearound to score on Curtis Granderson's triple. Placido Polancofollowed with an RBI single and Sheffield made Millwood paywith his second two-run blast of the night to push the Tigers'advantage to 6-0.

"You want to try to get (Millwood) early in the count,"Sheffield said of his opposite-field shot in the third inning.I just hit the ball where he pitched it. He came up and in on a3-2 slider and I was able to do something with it."

That was all the breathing room Verlander would need. Thesecond-year righthander dominated the Texas lineup, allowingjust five hits and two walks in seven frames while striking outsix.

Verlander showed no ill effects from his outing last Thursday inwhich he surrendered a season-high seven runs in five inningsin a loss at Cleveland.

"I wanted to go out there and get deep in the ballgame and giveus a chance," Verlander said. "The offense came up big for megetting a lot runs early and allowed me to be aggressive."

Millwood was not quite as fortunate. The Rangers' ace waslifted after just 3 2/3 frames when Sheffield's fifth RBI of thenight pushed the lead to 7-0. The veteran righthander allowedseven runs and nine hits while walking one and striking outfive.

Millwood has made nine starts this season around two trips tothe disabled list, and has last six innings only three times.He has yielded more than three runs in each of his last sixoutings.

"I'm trying everything I know to get things right and it's notworking," Millwood said. "It's getting frustrating."

Detroit added two more runs in the fifth when Carlos Guillen andIvan Rodriguez led off the inning with back-to-back homers offrighthanded reliever Wes Littleton.