Colon gets KO'd early in A's 10-6 loss to Tigers

[May 11, 2012]  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Brandon Inge gave the Oakland Athletics something positive to look at on a night when starter Bartolo Colon got knocked out early during an eight-run Detroit inning.

Inge became the first A's player since Jimmie Foxx 80 years ago to hit two grand slams in three games as Oakland lost to the Tigers 10-6 Thursday.

After belting a game-ending slam Tuesday to beat Toronto, Inge connected in the eighth inning off Colin Balester in his first game against the Tigers since being released by the team last month.

"Honestly, by no means am I trying to hit grand slams," Inge said. "It just happens sometimes. I'm just trying to have fun. That's what kind of usually makes things go your way. This group of guys makes it easy."

Inge has driven in four runs in three of his past four games and has 13 RBIs in nine games with Oakland, which is third on the team.

"It's been pretty impressive," manager Bob Melvin said. "He's coming up big in situations where there are guys on base and we haven't seen a lot of that to this point here, so it's been very welcome."

Miguel Cabrera, who came into the game hitless in his previous 14 at-bats, finished with four hits, including an RBI double and a run-scoring single in Detroit's eight-run third inning. Cabrera also had an RBI single in the fifth.

Alex Avila added a two-run double in the third and Delmon Young, Brennan Boesch and Ramon Santiago also had run-scoring hits in the inning as the Tigers chased Colon (3-3) in their highest-scoring game since putting up 13 runs against Boston in the third game of the season. Andy Dirks added four hits and a homer to help Detroit match a season high with 17 hits.

Max Scherzer (2-3) was the beneficiary of the big night from the struggling Tigers batters, allowing two runs and five hits with nine strikeouts in 6 1-3 innings to end a three-start winless streak. He gave up only a two-run homer to Kila Ka'aihue in the second.

Cabrera was one of four players who came out for early batting practice for the Tigers, who had been held to three runs or fewer in four of the past five games. Manager Jim Leyland said he thought Cabrera had found a flaw in his swing -- he was holding his hands too high -- and he was confident the slugger would find his stroke soon.

Cabrera proved his manager right, delivering his first four-hit game since May 30, 2010, against Oakland, raising his average from .263 to .285.

"My swing was not functioning," Cabrera said. "Last month and this month we tried to figure out what was going on. Hopefully, we figured it out."

Austin Jackson and Dirks started the third with singles and Cabrera followed with an RBI double. Prince Fielder then reached on an error by Ka'aihue at first as another run scored. Young hit an RBI single and Avila's two-run double made it 6-2.

Colon got his first out of the inning when Ryan Raburn flied out but Boesch followed with an RBI double that ended Colon's night. Santiago greeted Jordan Norberto with an RBI single and Cabrera capped the outburst with his RBI single.

"That's a team you have to respect on a daily basis, no matter whether they've been going good or bad," Inge said. "I've been in that clubhouse. I know that they're capable of throwing up probably 30 runs on you one day if they get hot. They're good. Speaking (as) an outsider, they need to relax a little bit and trust their ability."

Colon allowed eight runs -- seven earned -- and nine hits in 2 1-3 innings, dropping to 0-7 in his last 12 starts against Detroit with a 7.67 ERA.

"He was in the middle of the plate a lot and usually he's not," Melvin said. "Usually he's on the corners, you know, starting off and actually running to the corners. That's what it looked like to me. It just looked like there were a lot of good swings that you don't normally see off of him."

NOTES: Colon last beat the Tigers on April 13, 2003, with the Chicago White Sox. ... Oakland RHP Brandon McCarthy, who missed Tuesday's start with a sore shoulder, said he had no concerns after a bullpen session and is on target to start Saturday. ... Melvin said he was encouraged by how OF Yoenis Cespedes (left hand) felt after hitting off a tee and taking soft toss and that Cespedes could be back in the lineup as soon as Saturday. ... Tommy Milone (4-2) will take the mound Friday for Oakland against Detroit's Rick Porcello (3-2).

[Associated Press; JOSH DUBOW]

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