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Davis caps ninth-inning rally to propel Rangers

Sep 17, 2008 - 4:17 AM ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Despite an emphatic comeback which saved Kevin Millwood's outing, Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington still claims Tuesday was all about his starting pitcher.

After providing little support for Millwood, the Rangers' bats came alive in the bottom of the ninth for a three-run rally - capped by Chris Davis' RBI single - that gave them a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

"Tonight belongs to Kevin Millwood," Washington said. "He was awfully good. He did his job and did it very well. He had good finish on his fastball, hit his spots, changed speeds and kept the ball off the fat part of the bat."

Millwood was solid for seven innings but gave Detroit a 4-2 advantage it protected until the ninth. Tigers reliever Fernando Rodney (0-6) surrendered a game-tying, two-run triple by Marlon Byrd after Michael Young walked and Josh Hamilton laced a single to lead off the inning.

"Marlon's a fighter and he doesn't ever quit," Washington said. "The entire clubhouse feels that way. They keep fighting to the end. When you've got a guy like Young out there playing all broken up and Marlon out there, it inspires everyone.

"Marlon fought off some bad and nasty pitches, and then Davis came up and did an awesome job of putting the bat on the ball."

After intentional walks to Hank Blalock and Nelson Cruz, Davis followed with his game-winning hit.

"Byrd's triple is what was huge," Davis said. "We needed someone to light the fuse and keep it going for us. They loaded the bases and I swung at an 0-2 pitch over my head and was able to put it out there. I just wanted to put the ball in play with an 0-2 count. It may not have been the best pitch to swing at, but I'm not complaining."

Jamey Wright (7-6) tossed a scoreless top of the ninth to notch the victory.

"I'm upset we lost the ballgame," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "I don't put the blame anywhere. But when you earn something, you should get it. That's the only point I'm making."

Brandon Inge smacked an RBI single in the seventh off Millwood, and Byrd's throwing error from center field on the play enabled Matt Joyce to score, giving the Tigers a 3-2 lead.

Dusty Ryan followed with a single, which plated Inge.

"We had a nice rally, we battled, but it's the same story," Leyland said. "We had a two-run lead in the ninth and we don't hold it before we get an out. That's not good. I can't make it any more simple than that. We didn't hold it last night and tonight we don't hold it."

Zach Miner, who yielded two runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings, had a chance to win his fourth straight decision, but Rodney's blunders sent Detroit to its sixth straight loss.

"I've been there myself," Miner said of Rodney's outing. "You just feel for the guy. Obviously, (Rodney) is going to get the job done more often than he's not. You've got to forget about this one and get them tomorrow."