Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Rajai Davis homered and Alfredo Simon continued a string of good starting pitching for the Detroit Tigers in a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
Simon (2-0) gave up the only two Pirates hits, both singles, in eight innings and struck out two without walking a batter.
Joakim Soria then threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his fourth save of the season -- the second game in a row Detroit pitchers faced just two batters over the minimum.
The Tigers, after dropping the opener of the series 5-4 on Monday for their first loss of the season, beat the Pirates 2-0 on Tuesday behind another great start by Shane Greene, who gave up three hits -- all singles.
Davis homered off Francisco Liriano (0-1), who pitched well in six innings for the Pirates on eight days' rest. He struck out seven and gave up four hits and a walk.
Davis homered on Liriano's first pitch of the sixth inning, knocking an 81 mph slider into the seats behind left field.
"It's always fun to be on the winning side of these close ballgames," said Davis. "Our pitching and defense has been outstanding."
The Tigers won with only five hits, the rest of them singles. J.D. Martinez and Jose Iglesias both stole second base after singles early in the game and Nick Castellanos was picked off following one of his two hits.
Pittsburgh's hits came from Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker in the fourth inning. McCutchen also reached after he was hit by pitch in the first inning, but was ruled out on a steal after the Tigers challenged the call.
"You just keep working and keep playing," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of his team's offensive slump. "Guys have to take it upon themselves to have the best at-bat while their up there to put the guy behind them in a better spot than they're in."
The game was played in 2 hours and 52 minutes. More than 10 minutes of that time was spent trying to decided whether a pitch to Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera in the ninth inning was a ball or a strike.
Cabrera checked his swing on the pitch, which hit catcher Francisco Cervelli's glove and then the mask of home plate umpire Jerry Layne, who left the game.
After minutes of discussion, it was ruled a ball and Cabrera took his walk.
Game Notes
Bob Davidson moved from second base to replace Layne behind the plate ... Detroit returns from a six-game road trip to host the Chicago White Sox for three game starting Friday ... Pittsburgh continues a 10-game homestand with the opener of a three-game set against Milwaukee on Friday.
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