Willie Calhoun ripped a tie-breaking, bases-clearing triple with two outs in the seventh inning as the host Texas Rangers completed a season sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 9-4 victory on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
Danny Santana belted a two-run homer and Shin-Soo Choo had an RBI double and scored three times for the Rangers, who won all six meetings against Detroit this season.
Niko Goodrum ripped a two-run double in the fifth inning and scored on a fielder's choice for the tumbling Tigers, who fell to 4-18 since the All-Star break.
With the score tied at 4, Jeff Mathis and Choo each drew a walk against reliever Jose Cisnero (0-3) to lead off the seventh inning before advancing into scoring position following a groundout.
Although Mathis was thrown out at the plate on a fielder's choice, Texas quickly loaded the bases before Calhoun slapped an offering from Nick Ramirez just inside the right-field line for his first career triple.
Calhoun didn't wait on third base for long as he scored after Ramirez's changeup eluded catcher John Hicks for a wild pitch.
Rafael Montero (1-0) picked up the win after allowing two hits over 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Rangers seized a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning after Choo reached on an infield single before Santana deposited a 2-2 slider from Jordan Zimmermann over the wall in right field. Santana's homer was his 17th of the season and team-best eighth since the All-Star break.
Detroit forged a tie at 4 in the seventh after Rangers third baseman Logan Forsythe's throwing error allowed Goodrum to score from second base.
In the first inning, Texas bolted out of the blocks as Choo scored on Elvis Andrus' sacrifice fly, and Santana followed suit on Nomar Mazara's RBI single to center field to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers halved the deficit in the fourth after second baseman Rougned Odor misfired on his bid for an inning-ending double play, allowing Miguel Cabrera to score from third.
Detroit seized a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning after Hicks and Gordon Beckham each singled, advanced a base on a sacrifice and came home after Goodrum ripped a two-run double to center field.
--Field Level Media
Detroit | Texas | |
Jordan Zimmermann | Player | Pedro Payano |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
6.0 | IP | 4.1 |
7 | Strikeouts | 2 |
6 | Hits | 6 |
6.00 | ERA | 4.15 |
Detroit | Texas | |
Miguel Cabrera | Player | Shin-Soo Choo |
2 | Hits | 3 |
0 | RBI | 1 |
0 | HR | 0 |
2 | TB | 5 |
.667 | Avg | 1.000 |