Tigers 8, Rangers 6
Victor Martinez and red-hot J.D. Martinez belted back-to-back homers and drove in two runs apiece to power visiting Detroit to its sixth consecutive victory.
Miguel Cabrera had one of the Tigers' eight extra-base hits and also recorded two RBIs while Eugenio Suárez added a run-scoring double to send Texas to its seventh straight defeat. Anibal Sanchez (5-2) labored through 5 1/3 innings to win his third straight start, giving up four runs on six hits, and Joe Nathan was touched for a run in the ninth before notching his 16th save.
Carlos Pena homered and Adrian Beltre went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Rangers, who dropped seven games under .500 for the first time since September 2008. Veteran left-hander Joe Saunders (0-4) was knocked around for six runs on seven hits and five walks in five-plus innings to remain winless in seven starts.
A sacrifice fly by Cabrera and back-to-back RBI doubles from Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez in the first inning made it a quick 3-0 lead for Detroit, who tacked on two more runs in the third on Cabrera's run-scoring double and Torii Hunter's RBI single. Beltran doubled home Shin-Soo Choo and came home on an error before Robinson Chirinos added an RBI single in the fourth to cut the deficit to 5-3.
Victor Martinez ended Saunders' night when he led off the fifth by crushing a breaking ball over the fence in center and J.D. Martinez slammed the next pitch from reliever Shawn Tolleson out to right-center - his sixth homer in the last nine games. Pena's solo shot and Alex Rios' sacrifice fly drew Texas within 7-5, but Suárez doubled home a run in the eighth to restore the three-run advantage.
GAME NOTEBOOK: J.D. Martinez extended his hitting streak to a career-best 14 games, while Victor Martinez and 2B Ian Kinsler each recorded their seventh multi-hit peformance in the last 11 games. ... Pena's homer was the 286th of his career and first since June 20, 2013, as a member of Houston. ... Tigers RF Hunter went 1-for-4 in his return to the lineup after missing the previous seven games due to a hamstring injury.