Tigers Claw to Victory Over Rangers

Mike Adams might have been a little too eager to make a good impression on his new teammates.

The Texas reliever gave up a solo home run to Brennan Boesch in the eighth inning in his first appearance since the Rangers acquired him from San Diego, and the Detroit Tigers went on to a 6-5 victory Tuesday night.

"I left a change-up up and he hit it out of the park," Adams said. "I have the desire to do good and impress these guys. Maybe I was trying to do it too much."

Adams (0-1) got the first out of the eighth, but Boesch then lined his 16th homer of the season through a rain shower and over the wall in right field.

Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for Detroit, earning his 29th save in 29 chances.

Joaquin Benoit (3-3) blew a 5-2 lead in the top of the eighth, allowing a solo homer to Nelson Cruz and a tying two-run shot by Mike Napoli.

Alex Avila homered and drove in three runs for the Tigers, who nearly paid the price for not breaking the game open earlier when they put plenty of runners on base against Texas starter Colby Lewis.

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Lewis allowed five runs -- four earned -- and 10 hits in four-plus innings. He walked three and struck out three.

"I didn't have anything, really. I was just trying to get outs," Lewis said. "Felt like I had to nibble a little more than I should because I didn't have that little extra zip."

The Rangers lead the second-place Los Angeles Angels by only a game in the AL West.

Max Scherzer allowed two runs and six hits in six innings for Detroit. Reliever David Pauley, acquired over the weekend from Seattle, started the seventh in his first appearance as a Tiger. He allowed a leadoff double but got two outs after that, and Phil Coke came in and retired Josh Hamilton on a weak grounder to end the threat.

Cruz started the Texas rally in the eighth with his 24th homer, and after a walk to Mitch Moreland, Napoli tied it with his 16th homer.

With the rain suddenly picking up, Boesch broke the tie with one swing against a reliever he wasn't familiar with.

"I had no idea who he was," Boesch said. "No disrespect to him, but he's not in our league and he just got traded over here."

Adams had a 1.13 ERA in 48 innings with the Padres this season, but his first appearance for Texas was forgettable.

"I guess I was a little bit more nervous out there, but that's no excuse," Adams said. "It's a game and I've got to get guys out."

Ian Kinsler nearly brought Texas even again in the ninth, hitting a long foul ball on Valverde's first pitch, but the Rangers couldn't score. Valverde got Cruz to fly out to left with two on to end it.

Texas trailed 3-2 in the fifth after Yorvit Torrealba's RBI single, and the Rangers had runners on first and second with nobody out, but Andrus popped up a bunt. Detroit made the Rangers pay for the missed opportunity. Victor Martinez reached on an error to start the bottom of the inning, then Jhonny Peralta singled and Carlos Guillen walked to load the bases.

Yoshinori Tateyama came on to replace Lewis, and Avila greeted him with a single to left-center to score two runs and make it 5-2.

The Tigers might have scored more, but they hit into three double plays in the first five innings.

NOTES: Texas 3B Adrian Beltre, on the DL with a strained left hamstring, took batting practice on the field before the game. ... Hamilton slid feet first into home to score the first Texas run. He broke his arm diving head first toward the plate at Detroit in April. ... Peralta made a sprawling stop at shortstop on Kinsler's grounder in the seventh. ... The Rangers made three errors. ... Lewis has allowed 27 HRs this season. ... RHP Doug Fister, acquired over the weekend in the same trade that brought Pauley to Detroit, will make his first start for the Tigers on Wednesday night against LHP Matt Harrison of the Rangers. ... The Tigers have won 15 of their past 18 games against Texas at Comerica Park. ... Harrison has a 2.16 ERA in his past 12 starts. ... Fister is 3-12, but has a 3.33 ERA on the year.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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