Tigers 5, Rangers 0: Justin Verlander carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Jhonny Peralta homered and drove in two runs as host Detroit rebounded from Max Scherzer's first loss in 21 regular-season decisions.
Torii Hunter and Victor Martinez also went deep for the Tigers, who head into the All-Star break having taken two of three from Texas. They suffered a 7-1 setback on Saturday as Scherzer fell to 14-1 on the season.
Verlander (10-6) walked three and struck out three while keeping the Rangers hitless through six innings. The former American League MVP retired the first two batters in the seventh before his bid for a third career no-hitter was ended by Mitch Moreland, who doubled to center field.
Verlander recorded the final out of the inning but did not return for the eighth due to tightness in his right quad muscle. Drew Smyly yielded a hit in 1 1/3 frames before Joaquin Benoit closed out the two-hit shutout.
Hunter gave Verlander all the offensive support he needed with a one-out solo blast off Martin Perez (3-2) in the first inning. Martinez and Peralta went back-to-back with two out in the fourth to make it 3-0, and Peralta and Matt Tuiasosopo hit consecutive RBI singles in the sixth to cap the scoring.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Detroit signed RHP Jeremy Bonderman to a minor-league contract. Bonderman, who was designated for assignment by Seattle on Monday after going 1-3 with a 4.93 ERA in seven starts, went 67-77 with the Tigers over the first eight seasons of his career. The 30-year-old, who had not pitched in the major leagues prior to this year since 2010, will join Triple-A Toledo on Thursday. ... Perez surrendered five runs on four hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings. The left-hander served up three home runs after allowing only two in 30 1/3 frames over his first five starts this season. ... C Geovany Soto had the only other hit - an eighth-inning single - for the Rangers, who have lost four of five.
Texas | Detroit | |
Martin Perez | Player | Justin Verlander |
Loss | W/L | Win |
5.2 | IP | 7.0 |
4 | Strikeouts | 3 |
4 | Hits | 1 |
7.94 | ERA | 0.00 |
Texas | Detroit | |
Geovany Soto | Player | Torii Hunter |
1 | Hits | 2 |
0 | RBI | 1 |
0 | HR | 1 |
1 | TB | 5 |
.500 | Avg | .667 |