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Tigers blast Rangers again

Jun 8, 2007 - 6:15 AM ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Gary Sheffield and the Detroit Tigers crushed the Texas Rangers again.

Sheffield hit his 16th home run of the season and Curtis Granderson and Brandon Inge drove in three runs apiece as the Tigers rolled to an 11-4 triumph over the Rangers.

It was the second consecutive big game for the Tigers, who won here, 10-0, on Wednesday behind Sheffield's two homers and five RBI.

"We're capable of doing that, we showed that all spring," Sheffield said. "We know that if we put it all together, as a whole, we're capable of scoring a whole lot of runs and we did that."

Detroit starter Mike Maroth (4-2) was the beneficiary of the run support en route to his first win since May 11. The lefthander allowed three runs, eight hits and three walks while striking out one in five innings. The Tigers wasted no time in getting to Texas starter Kameron Loe (1-6), who is 0-6 with an 8.57 ERA over his last nine starts.

Granderson led off the game with a triple and scored later in the frame on a groundout by Sheffield. In the second, Inge hit a two-run double to give Detroit a 3-1 edge.

"The big thing is, the team that gets ahead first puts themselves at an advantage because they get the momentum on their side," Granderson said. "You want to try to get on top early and put pressure on that pitching staff and get a little comfortable on the offensive side."

The Tigers delivered the knockout punch to Loe in the the third with a six-run outburst.

Sheffield opened the frame with a solo home run to right-center field, giving the designated hitter four home runs and 10 RBI over his last four games.

Magglio Ordonez followed with a single and, after one out was made, moved to third on Sean Casey's 13th double of the season.

"The guys are getting on base in front of me, the pitchers have to come to you," Sheffield said. "When you got a guy like Magglio swinging behind you, as good as he is, you get good pitches to hit."

Ordonez scored the second run of the inning on a fielder's choice by Craig Monroe, who reached safely when Casey was tagged out trying to reach third.

"Hitting is contagious," said Casey, who had three hits and scored a run. "We've all put up some good numbers the past couple of nights. Especially when you get a guy like 'Shef' hot, you can really start something and make a game take off for you."

Back-to-back singles by Mike Rabelo and Inge pushed Monroe across and gave the Tigers a 6-1 lead. Granderson made it 8-1 moments later with a triple to right field and drove Loe from the game.

"I'm pretty excited to be out there playing," said Inge, who was playing in his third game after missing the previous five with a chip fracture in his big toe. "It was kind of frustrating sitting, but now I'm back out and things are falling for me right now, so I'm happy to be contributing."

Reliever Scott Feldman allowed an RBI-single to Placido Polanco and a walk to Sheffield before getting Ordonez to ground out to end the inning.

Loe allowed nine runs, nine hits and a walk while striking out one in 2 2/3 innings.

"I got the ball up. Lefties seem to be pretty comfortable against me, I don't come in on them as much and they take aggressive hacks," said Loe, who threw 75 pitches and faced 19 batters. "I know I have to put up good starts if I want to stay here. The more bad starts I have, the closer I am to being on my way out."

Texas starters have a 6.97 ERA this season - the worst figure in the majors - and have failed to pitch past the fourth inning 18 times.

"Our guys are capable," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We have to start making some pitches and get some confidence back. If we have to make adjustments to the staff, then we will."

Feldman allowed RBI singles to Rabelo and Granderson an inning later as the Tigers lead swelled to 11-2. Granderson had three hits - two triples - in the game and is batting .382 (13-for-34) during his last eight games.

"It's all placement," said Granderson, referring to his 11th and 12th triples of the season. "It has to be one of the deeper ballparks, so that the amount of throws it takes to get it in there, it takes more than one. It's just hitting it in the right spots."

Texas first baseman Mark Teixeira hit his 12th home run of the season and drove in two runs after leaving Wednesday's game in the fifth inning with a stiff neck. In the process, he extended his consecutive games streak to 505, an on-going franchise record and the second-longest active streak in the majors.