Oakland, CA – Andy Dirks went 4-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored as the Detroit Tigers took a 10-6 win over the Oakland Athletics in the opener of a four-game set.
Miguel Cabrera went 4-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored while Alex Avila plated two for the Tigers, who had dropped two of three in Seattle coming into this series. Max Scherzer (2-3) went 6 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts.
"It was nice to get some runs on the board," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.
Brandon Inge hit his second grand slam in the past three days for the Athletics, who have lost their last two. Bartolo Colon (3-3) was torched for eight runs -- seven earned -- on nine hits in just 2 1/3 innings.
The Tigers scored on their second at-bat when Dirks clubbed a solo home run, his third of the year.
Oakland grabbed the lead in the second as Seth Smith walked with one out and Kila Ka'aihue homered to center for his first of the season and a 2-1 lead.
Detroit, though, batted around in the third to take control of the game.
The first two batters reached base on singles and Cabrera chased home one with a double. Prince Fielder then hit a sharp grounder to first that Ka'aihue couldn't field, allowing Dirks to score. A Delmon Young single scored another and Avila followed with a two-run double. RBI doubles from Brennan Boesch and Ramon Santiago were followed later by an RBI single from Cabrera for a 9-2 advantage.
Cabrera singled home another run in the fifth to give Detroit an eight-run lead.
The lead stayed that way until the eighth, when Oakland cut its deficit in half.
With Phil Coke on the mound for Detroit, Josh Reddick reached base with one out on a single and Jonny Gomes followed with a single. After Seth Smith walked to load the bases, Collin Balester took the mound and Inge greeted him with his second grand slam in three days
Inge's grand slam in the ninth inning on Tuesday gave the team a walk-off, 7-3 victory over Toronto, but all he did on Thursday was make the score more respectable as the A's went quietly in the ninth.
"If anyone said they were trying to do it, they'd be lying. No one tries to hit grand slams. It just happens sometimes," Inge commented.
Game Notes
Each team won five times in the series last season...Cabrera has 25 RBI on the season...Colon fell to 8-10 in 25 career games against the Tigers...Scherzer improved to 2-1 in three starts against the Athletics...Rick Porcello pitches for Detroit on Friday while Tom Milone toes the rubber for Oakland.
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