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Boesch leads Tigers over Rangers

Jun 7, 2011 - 5:51 AM Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Brennan Boesch went 5-for-5, homered twice and knocked in five runs as Detroit rocked Texas, 13-7, to begin a three-game set at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Andy Dirks and Alex Avila also hit home runs for the Tigers, who won for the seventh time in eight games.

Max Scherzer (7-2) earned the win, allowing five runs on eight hits and a walk through five innings.

Colby Lewis (5-6) took the loss in just 3 1/3 innings, allowing nine runs on 10 hits and a walk to snap the Rangers' five-game winning streak.

"I felt fine. The ball just wasn't winding up where it should have been tonight," said Lewis.

Nelson Cruz went deep twice with a pair of two-run home runs for Texas.

Austin Jackson singled to lead off the game and Don Kelly followed with a walk before Boesch hit a home run to right field that gave the Tigers a quick three-run advantage.

Boesch led off the third inning with his second homer of the night to give him his first career multi-home run game. Dirks followed three batters later with a two-run bomb and Avila added a solo shot to make the score 7-0.

"Obviously he had a huge, huge night. Good for him," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said about Boesch. "He's getting better all the time. He's starting to relax a little bit more."

Texas got on the board in the bottom of the third. Endy Chavez walked to lead off the inning and Ian Kinsler then hit a liner to left field that Dirks tried to make a diving grab on, but the ball bounced under his glove, allowing Chavez to score and Kinsler to reach third. An Elvis Andrus groundout plated Kinsler to make the score 7-2.

A Miguel Cabrera RBI double and a Victor Martinez sacrifice fly in the fourth added two more runs for the Tigers.

The Rangers answered with three runs of their own with a Cruz two-run home run and a run-scoring single by Kinsler in the bottom half of the inning.

The Tigers put a run on the board in the sixth on a Boesch RBI double and added another in the seventh on a pinch-hit single by Danny Worth to make the score 11-5.

Cruz smacked his second two-run homer of the night in the eighth to finalize the scoring for the Rangers.

Ryan Raburn singled with one out in the ninth and Jackson followed with a bouncer towards second. As Kinsler ran to grab it, he collided with Raburn and the ball bounced off his wrist. Raburn was awarded second on the play because the umpire ruled Kinsler had a chance to make the play before running into Raburn.

Worth followed with a double that brought in Raburn and Jackson to make the score 13-7.

Game Notes

Scherzer is now 3-0 lifetime against the Rangers in five starts...Cruz extended his hit streak to 10 games...Every Detroit starter recorded a hit...Boesch was a triple short of the cycle.