Cabrera powers Tigers past White Sox 11-5 for 7th straight
DETROIT (AP) - Miguel Cabrera hit his third home run in two games, Victor Martinez also went deep and the Detroit Tigers won their seventh straight by beating the Chicago White Sox 11-5 Tuesday night.
Andrew Romine and Cameron Maybin tripled in a six-run fifth inning for the Tigers. Cabrera had three RBIs, and Anibal Sanchez (5-12) won for the first time as a starter since April 28 — a span of 11 starts. He allowed one run and six hits in six innings.
Avisail Garcia homered twice and Todd Frazier hit his 30th for Chicago.
James Shields (3-6) held the Tigers scoreless for the first four innings, then got hit hard in the fifth. He had allowed only five runs in his previous four starts combined.
The White Sox broke a scoreless tie on Dioner Navarro's RBI single in the fourth. Sanchez, though, retired Charlie Tilson with runners at the corners to end the inning.
Chicago put its first two batters on in the fifth, but Sanchez picked off Tyler Saladino and worked out of the jam. The Tigers took advantage in the bottom of the inning.
Romine, getting a rare start at third base in place of Nick Castellanos, led off with a triple and scored on Jose Iglesias' sacrifice fly. Ian Kinsler singled and Maybin tripled into the left-field corner to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Cabrera's double gave Detroit a two-run advantage, and Martinez followed with Detroit's fourth extra-base hit of the inning, an RBI double.
Justin Upton singled, and after Shields finally got the second out, James McCann made it 6-1 with a two-run single over Saladino's glove at second.
Cabrera added a two-run homer in the sixth.
Garcia hit a two-run shot off Shane Greene in the seventh, but Kinsler had a two-run single to make it 10-3.
Frazier homered in the eighth to tie Baltimore slugger Mark Trumbo for the major league lead.
After Martinez connected in the Tigers eighth, Garcia hit one estimated at 465 feet off Mark Lowe.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: Tilson, playing his first major league game, had to be helped off the field in the fifth after straining his left hamstring while chasing Cabrera's double. His leg buckled under him, and Adam Eaton had to field the ball in right-center while Tilson was lying on the field.
Tigers: Detroit got good news on all three of its injured players. LHP Daniel Norris (oblique) was activated from the disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Toledo, where he will prep as Detroit's sixth starter. RHP Jordan Zimmermann (neck) will be activated to start Thursday's series finale against Chicago, and Tigers manager Brad Ausmus also expected RF J.D. Martinez (elbow) to return against the White Sox.
PERFECT AT THE PLATE
Tilson singled in his first career at-bat, a grounder up the middle in the third inning. It was the second time in two games that a visiting player got his first hit at Comerica Park. Houston's Alex Bregman did it on Sunday. Both times, Cabrera presented the player with the ball at first base and offered a congratulatory pat on the back.
UP NEXT
The teams play the second in a three-game series Wednesday night, with Chicago ace Chris Sale (14-4, 3.17 ERA) facing Detroit rookie Michael Fulmer (9-2, 2.50) in a matchup of two of the American League's best starters. The last time Sale was scheduled to face the Tigers, he was scratched after shredding throwback uniforms.