ARLINGTON, Texas – The Detroit Tigers had little defense for their sloppy play Sunday.
Josh Hamilton hit his 32nd homer and drove in three runs, Yu Darvish struck out eight and the Texas Rangers beat the Tigers 8-3 Sunday.
The Tigers, who lost the season series 7-3 to the Rangers, committed three errors and threw three wild pitches.
Detroit's poor defense was especially evident in the third inning when two miscues helped lead to three runs, extending Texas' lead to 5-0.
"It was ugly, really ugly," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We threw to the wrong base a couple of times and we didn't hit a cutoff man."
The AL West-leading Rangers, who beat the Tigers in last season's AL championship series, took two of three in the weekend series.
Miguel Cabrera had a two-run double for Detroit, which fell two games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
The Tigers' potent offense was held in check as it went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
Cabrera and Prince Fielder reached leading off the fourth. Darvish needed only two pitches to get out of trouble as Brennan Boesch grounded out and Delmon Young bounced into a double play.
In the seventh, Fielder came up as the tying run and popped out to end the inning. The Tigers mustered only 11 hits in losing their last two games.
"Every time you lose, you try to forget," outfielder Austin Jackson said. "Obviously, we don't want to lose a series. We're looking forward to winning the next one."
The Rangers are 10-3 since having their division lead cut down to three games on July 31. After Oakland lost Sunday, the Rangers now top the AL West by 6½ games.
Hamilton hit a two-run drive in the first inning to take the major league lead in home runs. He later singled home a run and has 99 RBIs, also tops in baseball.
Darvish (12-8) allowed six hits and walked five. With temperatures over 100 degrees, Darvish threw 120 pitches and improved to 3-0 against the Tigers this year.
Rick Porcello (9-7) gave up nine hits and six runs. The right-hander is 2-3 lifetime against the Rangers with a 7.83 ERA in five starts.
Texas scored three runs in the third to pull away. Kinsler hit an RBI double that made it 3-0, and he came home when Porcello made an errant throw toward third after fielding a hopper.
Hamilton capped the inning with an RBI single to right that Boesch misplayed.
"The third inning was the big inning that separated them a little bit," Porcello said.
Omar Infante's RBI double in the fifth snapped a 12-inning scoreless skid for Detroit. Cabrera's two-run double off Darvish gave him 98 RBIs and brought the Tigers within 6-3.
The Rangers scored twice in the seventh thanks to three wild pitches and an error.
NOTES: Detroit LHP Daniel Schlereth (left shoulder tendinitis) pitched a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance for Class A Lakeland on Saturday.
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