Detroit, MI (Sports Network) – Brandon Inge hit a solo home run with one out in the ninth inning to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers in the rubber match of a three-game series at Comerica Park.
After Texas stranded the potential go-ahead run at third in the top of the ninth, Inge hammered the first pitch he saw from Darren Oliver (1-1) over the wall in left-center for his first home run of the season.
Inge added a sacrifice fly for Detroit, which notched its second straight walk-off win on the heels of a three-game slide. Brennan Boesch knocked in the other Detroit run with a double.
Tigers starter Max Scherzer gave up two runs on six hits, walked two and struck out seven over six innings. Jose Valverde (2-0) pitched the ninth and picked up the win.
Nelson Cruz and David Murphy both hit RBI singles for the Rangers, who suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season.
Dave Bush, making his Texas debut, allowed three hits and walked three in a three-inning start. Bush, who made the roster as a long reliever after spending the last five years with Milwaukee, got the starting nod because of the team’s doubleheader in Baltimore over the weekend.
Before Wednesday’s game, the Rangers placed outfielder Josh Hamilton on the 15-day disabled list. Hamilton suffered a broken bone in his right upper arm during Tuesday’s game and is expected to be sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said after the contest that Hamilton has a small fracture in the humerus and would likely be unable to swing a bat for at least four weeks.
The game remained scoreless until both teams pushed two runs home in the sixth inning.
Adrian Beltre led off with a single and took second on a Scherzer wild pitch before scoring on Cruz’s sharp grounder that deflected off the glove of shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Another wild pitch by Scherzer allowed Cruz to move up a base and Murphy lined a run-scoring single to center field to give Texas a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers responded in the bottom half against Texas reliever Mark Lowe, who gave up consecutive doubles to Victor Martinez and Boesch to begin the frame. Boesch then advanced to third on Alex Avila’s one-out single and scored on Inge’s sac fly.
The Rangers put their first two batters of the game on base but failed to score. Detroit also stranded two in the home first.
The Tigers threatened in the home second when Boesch singled, stole second and took third on a grounder by Peralta. Boesch then took off for the plate on tapper toward the right side of the mound by Avila, but was easily thrown out at home by Bush. Inge and Austin Jackson both walked to load the bases for Will Rhymes, who grounded out to end the inning.
Michael Young went 1-for-4 to extend his hitting streak against Detroit to 15 games…The Rangers were 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.