ARLINGTON, Texas -- Kendrys Morales busted out of his power drought in a big way.
[b]Bart Starr Super Bowl Jersey[/b] . Morales homered twice and tied a career high with six RBIs to lead the Seattle Mariners past the Texas Rangers 9-2 on Tuesday night. The switch-hitting Morales, who has been hampered by a sore back, hit .235 with one home run in 25 June games before jumping on the Rangers for the 10th multihomer game of his career. "He lost his stroke there a little bit," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "I think its because he has been trying to do too much. But hes a good hitter who can do a lot of damage." Morales had a solo home run in the first and a three-run shot in the fifth off rookie Justin Grimm. Seattles designated hitter added a two-run single in the sixth to help the Mariners win for the first time at Texas this season. "I worked in the cage the last three or four days to make adjustments to feel more comfortable," Morales said through a translator. "I want to take an aggressive approach every time. Thats what it takes to be a winner." Joe Saunders (6-8) won for the first time in eight regular-season starts at Rangers Ballpark. The left-hander allowed two runs -- one earned -- and struck out five in 6 2-3 innings. Raul Ibanez, who hit 10 homers in June, had a solo shot for his 20th of the season as the Mariners opened a six-game road trip. The Mariners had 13 hits and scored their most runs since beating San Diego 9-0 on May 27. "I think the whole team swung the bats well," Ibanez said. "Even the outs that were made were good swings. It was a good collective effort." Grimm (7-6) gave up six runs and seven hits in four innings. He was chased in favour of Ross Wolf after Morales hit his second homer. The 24-year-old Grimm gave up a career-high three home runs and has a 9.31 ERA over his last six starts. "When talking about youth on the mound, youre going to get inconsistency," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "We have to get past the inconsistency." Grimm retired the first two batters of the game before Ibanez lined a 2-1 pitch over the fence in the right. Three pitches later, Morales followed with a solo drive to make it 2-0. "Their big bats in the order didnt miss," Washington said. Texas Leonys Martin dropped down a bunt single leading off the third to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest active run in the majors. Martin scored two batters later on Elvis Andrus single. After Dustin Ackley had a run-scoring double in the fourth to push the lead to 3-1, the Mariners scored three runs in the fifth. Nick Franklin led off with a single and Ibanez reached on Ian Kinslers error at second base to set the stage for Morales. He hit the first pitch from Grimm into the seats in right, extending Seattles lead to 6-1. It was Morales first multihomer game since last Aug. 8 against Oakland. Morales, who went 3 for 5, capped his big game with a two-run single in the sixth to make it 8-1. It was the fourth time he had six RBIs in a game. He last drove in six on July 30, 2012, against Texas. Saunders, who won the 2012 AL wild-card game at Rangers Ballpark with Baltimore, came in 0-7 with a 9.91 ERA in the regular season at Texas. The left-hander was coming off his shortest start of the season when he allowed six runs in 1 2-3 innings June 25 against Pittsburgh. "This place has torn me up a few times," Saunders said. "Everybody knows they can hit the ball. I wanted to work down in the zone and try to get ahead, something I havent been doing, and throw strikes." Saunders got double-play grounders to end the fifth and sixth. After he recorded the first two outs of the seventh, Andrus and Nelson Cruz had consecutive singles to chase Saunders. NOTES: Texas RHP Colby Lewis (elbow) threw 37 pitches in the bullpen and is expected to have another bullpen session Thursday. ... Rangers opening-day starter Matt Harrison, out since April while recovering from back surgery, threw from 120 feet. ... Ackley was back in the starting lineup after missing Sundays game with a sprained left thumb. ... Texas DH Lance Berkman (sore right knee) missed his fourth straight game. Berkman said he hopes to return to the lineup Wednesday night. ... Rangers radio announcer Eric Nadel missed most of the game because of laryngitis. Texas lead radio voice called the first inning before leaving. ... The Rangers outscored the Mariners 23-3 in a three-game sweep April 19-21.
[b]Aaron Rodgers Super Bowl Jersey[/b] . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt and listen on TSN 690. The Canadiens have won three in a row and four of their last five games and recently put the finishing touches on a 3-1-0 road trip.
[b]Paul Hornung Super Bowl Jersey[/b] . -- Syracuse was dangerously close to letting another less talented opponent pull off the upset when C.DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers arent just winning games this week. They are making history. One night after Rajai Davis hit Detroits first game-ending grand slam in 10 years, Rick Porcello significantly raised the bar. In a 3-0 win over Oakland, Porcello became just the fourth pitcher in franchise history to throw a shutout without walking or striking out a batter, and the first since Dizzy Trout in 1944. Porcello was slightly disappointed by his 95-pitch outing, even after learning how rare it was. "In the last couple innings, I was hoping Id get at least one strikeout," he said. "I didnt want to go out there and put up a zero. Still, with a game like this, Im certainly not going to trade it in for anything." Porcello recorded 17 groundball outs and 10 in the air while becoming the first major-leaguer to accomplish the feat since Baltimores Jeff Ballard on Aug. 21, 1989. Porcello was eight months old when Ballard did it against Milwaukee. "To be honest, it was pretty boring out there," said Torii Hunter, who didnt record an out in right field. "But that just shows you how great he was tonight. He was throwing that sinker right down the middle, and it was dropping out of the strike zone, and they were just beating it into the ground." The As got three singles and a double, and only got one runner to third base. "Our guys were swinging at strikes, but everything was moving," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "Hes got a good sinker and a good change-up, and now hes mixing in a good breaking ball to keep you off balance. Thats just a very well-pitched game by him." Porcellos night might have been historic, but it certainly didnt come out of the blue. He pitched his first career shutout in his previous start, beating the Rangers on June 26, and pitched six shutout innings against Cleveland on June 20. "I dont want to jinx it," he joked when asked about his shutout streak. "All I know is that Im throwing the ball really well right now, Im making consistent pitches when I need them, and my defence is helping me out. Im also getting some good breaks, which every pitcher needs." Porcello (11-4) only had one career complete game before this stretch, but is now the first Tigers pitcher since Jack Morris to throw back-to-bback shutouts.
[b]Jamaal Williams Super Bowl Jersey[/b]. Morris threw three in a row in July, 1986. "Obviously, Rick is throwing the ball extremely well right now," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "He had a great curveball and changeup tonight, and the sinker was better than that. It makes my job a lot easier when the starter has only thrown 88 pitches through eight innings." Brad Mills (1-1) took the loss for Oakland, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks in six-plus innings. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Miguel Cabrera walked, took third on J.D. Martinezs double and scored on a groundout by Hunter. Oakland, in the meantime, was becoming the latest team to struggle for answers against Porcello, managing only two hits in the first six innings. Martinez, starting for the second straight night while Victor Martinez deals with soreness in his left side, made it 3-0 with a two-run homer in the sixth. After moving into the everyday lineup in early June, J.D. Martinez is hitting .376 with seven homers and 20 RBIs in 19 games. "I threw him a change, and I think he was sitting on it," Mills said. "I certainly didnt locate it where I wanted it." After that, the only suspense was if Porcello could finish off the shutout, and do it with a double-digit pitch count. He accomplished both, becoming the first Tigers pitcher to throw a shutout in under 100 pitches since Armando Galarraga in 2010. That was the game Galarraga had to face an extra hitter after first base umpire Jim Joyce blew the call on what should have been the last out in a perfect game. NOTES: Victor Martinez took batting practice before the game, and told Ausmus that he could play, but Ausmus decided to rest him for another day. ... Tigers 3B Nick Castellanos took full advantage of his position in Detroits shifted defence, picking up a pair of 5-3 assists while playing in short right field. ... Oakland C Derek Norris is getting closer to returning from a sore back, and could play in Wednesdays series finale. ... The time of the game was 2:13, meaning that a 7:08 start ended less than 10 minutes after sunset. ... As OF Yoenis Cespedes sat out after leaving Mondays game with a cramp in his hamstring, but Melvin said he will be available on Wednesday. ' ' '
