DETROIT – This was a tough loss to accept for Hyun-Jin Ryu.
The Los Angeles left-hander had a five-run lead before he even took the mound against Detroit on Tuesday night — then he lost it almost immediately in what eventually became a 14-5 defeat.
"I felt like I really let my team down," Ryu said through a translator. "We had five runs in the first inning off a great pitcher, and I gave the lead away. That's the worst part of tonight."
Justin Verlander (8-7) allowed five runs in the first, but the Dodgers managed only one more hit off the Detroit right-hander, who has had his share of struggles this season. The Tigers tied it with five runs in the second, then added two in the third and four in the fourth to pull away.
Miguel Cabrera was one of five Detroit players with three hits. The Tigers had 20 as a team.
Verlander allowed five runs and five hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Ryu (9-5) allowed seven runs and 10 hits in 2 1-3 innings.
"That was definitely a weird one," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "I thought Ryu's stuff looked great in the first inning, but he started leaving the ball up in the second inning and after that, everything went right for the Tigers. Give them a lot of credit — they've got hitters who can crush left-handed pitching."
Juan Uribe hit a two-run homer for the Dodgers in the first, but Verlander retired 13 in a row after that.
Detroit managed its offensive outburst without a single homer, but broke through for eight hits in the second against Ryu. Torii Hunter led off with a double — he was initially ruled out at second after a nice throw from right fielder Yasiel Puig, but the call was overturned on replay.
"That's how replay has changed the game," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "It probably changes the entire inning, really. They have one out and nobody on as opposed to a runner on second, no outs."
Nick Castellanos, Alex Avila, Eugenio Suarez and Rajai Davis followed with consecutive singles, and Avila scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3. Ian Kinsler added an RBI single with one out, and Cabrera followed with one of his own to tie it.
Davis hit an RBI single in the third to chase Ryu, and Austin Jackson followed with a sacrifice fly for a 7-5 lead.
What had looked like a Los Angeles rout turned into a blowout for Detroit in the fourth, when the first six Tigers reached base against reliever Jamey Wright.
Castellanos singled home a run, and a bases-loaded walk by Avila forced in another. Suarez's RBI single made it 10-5.
Davis added a sacrifice fly, and in the fifth, J.D. Martinez tripled and scored on Hunter's single.
Detroit scored two more runs in the seventh. Cabrera hit an RBI triple, reaching third when Puig's throw from the wall in right-center sailed over two cutoff men. Hunter drove Cabrera home with a single.
Los Angeles opened the scoring on a two-run double by Adrian Gonzalez, and Matt Kemp added an RBI single to make it 3-0. Uribe's homer was his fifth of the year.
Mattingly was ejected in the sixth. With Gonzalez batting for the Dodgers, plate umpire Paul Schrieber stepped toward the Los Angeles dugout and made a quick motion, apparently ejecting Mattingly then.
Mattingly came out for a heated conversation with Schrieber, and then left the field.
"Balls and strikes weren't the thing that decided this game," Mattingly said. "They got 20 hits, or maybe more, I was losing count. That's why we lost the game."
NOTES: Kemp had three hits for the Dodgers. ... The Tigers were without DH Victor Martinez, who is dealing with a back issue. ... Andre Ethier hit into a rare 7-5 forceout in the sixth when his blooper to left dropped barely in front of Davis. The runners at first and second couldn't be sure if Davis would catch it or not. ... Detroit announced agreements with three draft picks: RHP Adam Ravenelle, RHP Artie Lewicki and RHP Whit Mayberry. ... Detroit RHP Max Scherzer (10-3) faces Dodgers RHP Zack Greinke (11-4) on Wednesday.
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