AL Roundup

Detroit Tigers Off to 0-6 Start

[April 07, 2008]  (AP)  This is not exactly the start the big-budget Detroit Tigers imagined.

Nick Swisher homered on the game's second pitch, Carlos Quentin had four RBIs and the Chicago White Sox routed slumping Detroit 13-2 on Sunday night.

The 0-6 Tigers are the majors' only winless team. Despite the second-highest payroll in baseball, they're are off to their worst start since they dropped their first nine games in 2003 en route to an AL-record 119 losses.

"This is very frustrating," said Justin Verlander, who gave up a career-high nine runs. "I think everyone on this team needs to do some soul searching."

All six of Detroit's losses have come at home, and the Tigers were booed loudly by the crowd of 35,230 as the game unraveled. One of the few cheers was a sarcastic ovation after Yorman Bazardo got the last out of Chicago's four-run ninth.

"I'm sure people are expecting me to rant and rave, but this team has too many professionals for me to have to do that," manager Jim Leyland said. "They shouldn't need to be told what they are doing wrong."

In other AL games, it was: Toronto 7, Boston 4; New York Yankees 2, Tampa Bay 0; Kansas City 3, Minnesota 1; Texas 10, Los Angeles Angels 4; Cleveland 2, Oakland 1; and Baltimore 3, Seattle 2.

Mark Buehrle (1-0) rebounded from being tagged for seven runs on opening day, holding the Tigers to two runs and seven hits in seven innings. Buehrle was helped by double plays in each of his last four innings.

"When I'm getting groundballs and breaking bats, I know that I'm in a groove," he said. "I wanted to keep the team in the game until the bats took over."

Verlander (0-1) allowed a career-high nine runs -- four earned -- in 5 2-3 innings for Detroit. He gave up seven hits and walked three, striking out four.

The White Sox put the game away with six runs in the sixth. With one out, Paul Konerko reached when Carlos Guillen dropped a throw at first, and Jermaine Dye followed with a double. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Verlander hit Quentin to force in a run.

Joe Crede and Swisher added RBI singles, chasing Verlander. Orlando Cabrera then made it 9-1 with a three-run double off Aquilino Lopez.

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 4

Frank Thomas broke a fifth-inning tie with his 11th career grand slam, Vernon Wells added a two-run homer and Toronto completed a three-game sweep of the World Series champions.

Boston went 3-4 on its opening three-nation trip to Tokyo, Oakland and Toronto, a journey of nearly 16,000 miles, and is last in the AL East for the first time since April 10, 2005.

Out since mid-March because of a strained lower back, Josh Beckett (0-1) was activated from the disabled list to face Roy Halladay (1-1). Beckett gave up three hits and five runs in 4 2-3 innings.

Halladay allowed four runs and eight hits in eight innings. Jeremy Accardo pitched the ninth for his third save.

Yankees 2, Rays 0

Chien-Ming Wang (2-0) pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning and Hideki Matsui hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Tampa Bay's James Shields (1-1).

Yankees manager Joe Girardi also was back on the bench following an illness.

Joba Chamberlain relieved with runners at the corners and no outs in the seventh, struck out Willy Aybar on three pitches and got Shawn Riggans on a liner that second baseman Robinson Cano caught with a backhand stab before doubling up Eric Hinske.

Hitting 101 mph on the Yankee Stadium radar gun, Chamberlain tossed a perfect eighth to set up Mariano Rivera, who fanned two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save -- a total he didn't reach last year until May 3.

Royals 3, Twins 1

Brett Tomko (1-0) allowed six hits in five shutout innings for Kansas City, and Alex Gordon hit a two-run single.

Joakim Soria struck out the side in order in the ninth for his third save.

Kansas City finished its opening trip to Detroit and Minnesota 4-2, its best start since 2004. The Royals had only three winning trips last season, none until May 11-20.

Boof Bonser (0-2) gave up three runs and eight hits in seven innings for Minnesota.

Rangers 10, Angels 4

At Anaheim, Calif., Gerald Laird had four hits, homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs.

Laird hit a three-run homer in the fourth off Jon Garland (1-1), his first RBIs of the season, then added an RBI single in the seventh against Darren O'Day and a two-run homer in the ninth off Jason Bulger.

Ben Broussard hit a two-run homer for Texas, which took two of three in the series.

Vicente Padilla (1-0) gave up four runs and nine hits in seven innings for the Rangers, allowing solo homers by Garret Anderson and Torii Hunter.

Indians 2, Athletics 1

At Oakland, Calif., Cliff Lee (1-0) gave up four hits and struck out four in 6 2-3 innings to win his first start of the season, retiring 10 of his last 12 batters as Cleveland stopped a three-game losing streak.

Joe Borowski pitched the ninth for his second save.

Asdrubal Cabrera hit an RBI groundout in the seventh off Oakland's Joe Blanton (0-2), with first baseman Daric Barton bobbling the ball briefly as pinch-runner Jamey Carroll scored. Ryan Garko walked with the bases loaded after the A's intentionally walked Grady Sizemore.

Orioles 3, Mariners 2

Luis Hernandez singled in the winning run with two outs in the ninth off Seattle's Mark Lowe (0-1), who also threw a tying wild pitch.

Nick Markakis led off the ninth with a double off Eric O'Flaherty and scored on a groundout by Aubrey Huff.

Seattle, without injured closer J.J. Putz, wasted an outstanding performance by Felix Hernandez, who allowed five hits in eight shutout innings as a replacement for former Orioles pitcher Erik Bedard, scratched Saturday because of an injured hip.

Dennis Safate (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth for the host Orioles, who have won four straight.

[Associated Press]

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