Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Victor Martinez homered in the top of the 10th inning to help the Detroit Tigers split a two-game series with a 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.
Detroit led 6-3 entering the bottom of the ninth when Adrian Gonzalez greeted Tigers closer Joe Nathan (2-0) with a leadoff homer to center.
Nathan then walked Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp before giving up a single to Juan Uribe that loaded the bases. Yasiel Puig pinch-hit for Tim Federowicz and struck out for the first out in the inning.
Pinch-hitter Scott Van Slyke followed with a groundout that scored Ethier and put runners at the corners with two down. Dee Gordon then slapped a single into right field to tie the game at 6-6 and send it to extras.
Martinez, who tied the game on Tuesday with a single in the ninth, quickly helped Detroit regain the lead with a long drive off Kenley Jansen (0-1) that cleared the wall in right and made it 7-6.
Joba Chamberlain allowed an infield single to Hanley Ramirez to leadoff the home half of the 10th and was immediately replaced by Ian Krol, who struck out Gonzalez and Ethier before giving way to Al Alburquerque.
Alburquerque needed only four pitches to induce a groundout off the bat of Kemp and nail down his first save of the season.
Martinez finished 3-for-3 with two RBI, while Nick Castellanos hit his first career home run and drove in three as the Tigers snapped their two-game losing streak. Ian Kinsler went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Austin Jackson added an RBI in the win.
Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez labored through five innings, allowing three runs -- one earned -- on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
Gordon went 3-for-5, Carl Crawford had two doubles with a run scored and Ethier also knocked in a run for LA, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.
Josh Beckett, who was activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game, made the start for LA and surrendered five runs -- four earned -- over four innings with five strikeouts and a walk.
Kinsler singled in the first inning, then stole second and third around a Miguel Cabrera walk. Martinez drove Kinsler in with a sacrifice fly to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead after one.
Crawford doubled before moving up to third on a wild pitch from Sanchez with one out in the home half of the first. Ramirez followed with a walk to put runners at the corners.
Los Angeles worked a double steal as Gonzalez struck out and Crawford swiped home to knot the score up at 1-1. Ramirez moved up to third on a throwing error from Martinez during the play and was driven in on an Ethier single in the next at-bat to give the Dodgers a one-run lead.
Sanchez helped his own cause at the plate in the next inning. Beckett struck out Castellanos and Tyler Collins before Alex Gonzalez reached on a fielding error by Gordon.
Sanchez then knocked in Alex Gonzalez with a double to center field to tie it 2-2.
Much like his counterpart, Beckett helped himself in the bottom of the second. Uribe reached third with one out after he singled, advanced to second on a passed ball and then moved up to third on a groundout from Federowicz.
Beckett proceeded to drop a bunt down and the squeeze play pushed the Dodgers in front, 3-2, after two frames.
Detroit kept the scoring going in the third with a two-out rally to grab the lead. Martinez singled to left, then Jackson ripped one down the right-field line that skipped into the stands for a ground-rule double.
Castellanos followed with a deep drive to center that hit the top of the wall and bounced over for his first big league homer.
The Tigers added an insurance run in the seventh when Jackson skied a sacrifice fly to center that allowed Kinsler to cross home for a 6-3 lead.
Drew Smyly, who relieved Sanchez to begin the sixth, allowed just one hit in three innings of scoreless ball before Nathan blew his second save of the season.
Game Notes
Jose Dominguez was sent to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room for Beckett on the LA roster ... Collins collected his first Major League hit with an infield single in the eighth ... Detroit's Torii Hunter missed the tilt after banging into the right-field wall in foul territory attempting to make a catch in Tuesday's game ... Gordon stole his fourth base of the season, but was also caught stealing for the first time ... LA had three errors ... Sanchez threw 110 pitches in his five-inning outing ... Detroit was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position ... The Dodgers were 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
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