The Detroit Tigers picked up another crucial victory on Wednesday night, dominating the Oakland Athletics en route to a 6-2 win. The Tigers ran A's starter Brett Anderson from the game early, and then relied on a combination of starter Justin Verlander and a few big hits to improve to 79-69.
The win puts Detroit two games behind the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead after the White Sox's 3-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
The Tigers scored three runs off of Anderson in the third inning when Omar Infante doubled in two runs and Delmon Young brought in the third on a sacrifice fly. Jhonny Peralta singled home a run in the fifth, and Miguel Cabrera hit homer No. 41 in the seventh inning to make the score 5-0. Infante drove in the Tigers' sixth run in the eighth on a fielder's choice.
Oakland scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth off Jose Valverde, but their bats were quiet for almost the entire night. Verlander allowed five hits and no runs over six innings. He walked three and also struck out five.
The teams will wrap up the series Thursday afternoon when Anibal Sanchez takes on Tom Milone.
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