Tigers 7 - 6 Blue Jays
Final
  for this game

Hunter's fourth hit pushes Tigers past Jays

Jul 3, 2013 - 5:32 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Torii Hunter drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning for the Detroit Tigers as they defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-6.

In the top of the eighth, Hunter hit a ground ball that deflected off Toronto relief pitcher Neil Wagner (1-3) toward shortstop Jose Reyes, but outran the throw to arrive safely at first base. The infield single scored Omar Infante to put the Tigers up by a run. Hunter went 4-for-5 on the day.

Doug Fister started the game for the Tigers, but allowed six runs during the first two innings. The right-hander settled down from there to provide four scoreless frames before Detroit manager Jim Leyland went to the bullpen in the seventh.

Al Alburquerque (1-1) picked up the win after pitching one scoreless inning in relief of Fister. Joaquin Benoit picked up his sixth save of the season.

"We needed it," Leyland said. "It was a good win for us."

Toronto starter Chien-Ming Wang was chased early after giving up six runs on eight hits in 1 2/3 innings of work, The right-hander only lasted 1 2/3 innings in his last start after going down 7-0 to the Red Sox.

After the game, Wang was designated for assignment.

"We enjoyed having him around," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Wang. "He can chose to be a free agent, but I'd love to have him around. He's a real pro."

The Toronto bullpen provided 7 1/3 innings of relief in their losing effort, only giving up one run on four hits with 12 strikeouts.

Colby Rasmus hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the second inning and had four RBI for the game.

Toronto started off the scoring in the first inning when Jose Bautista hit an RBI single to left scoring Reyes from second base. Runners advanced to second and third after Tigers catcher Alex Avila got handcuffed by a Fister pitch. Rasmus' ground-rule double scored Bautista and Rajai Davis and catcher Josh Thole reached first base after hitting an infield single to score Rasmus, giving the Blue Jays a 4-0 lead.

The Tigers responded with six runs in the top of the second to take the lead. Omar Infante doubled to left to score Jhonny Peralta. Avila then hit a deep double off the left field wall in his first at-bat since coming off the DL to score Infante and Andy Dirks. Miguel Cabrera hit his 26th home run of the season to drive in three runs to cap off the inning.

Game Notes

Tuesday's game marked the 3,419th game Leyland has managed during his career, placing him 15th place all-time in major league history...Detroit catcher Avila made his first start since June 16th after being activated from the 15-day disabled list following Monday's game... Fister has now hit a batter in 9 of his 17 starts.






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