Kiermaier, Andriese lift surging Rays over Tigers
DETROIT -- Kevin Kiermaier ripped a tiebreaking, three-run triple and Matt Andriese won his third consecutive start as the streaking Tampa Bay Rays downed the Detroit Tigers 7-5 on Friday at Comerica Park.
Steven Souza Jr. and Steve Pearce hit solo home runs for Tampa Bay, which stretched its winning streak to four games. Andriese, who allowed only one run in his first two starts, gave up four runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Alex Colome recorded his 11th save, retiring Victor Martinez on a game-ending groundout with the potential tying runs on base.
The Rays tied their franchise record by scoring at least six runs for the sixth straight game. The first time they did it was July 28-Aug. 3, 2005.
Miguel Cabrera hit a pair of home runs and drove in three runs for Detroit, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez (3-5) pitched five-plus innings and was charged with five runs on six hits.
Sanchez got a quick hook after allowing a single and a walk to start the sixth. Reliever Kyle Ryan retired the next two batters but walked Logan Morrison to load the bases. Kiermaier jumped on the next pitch and drilled it down the right-field line, clearing the bases and giving his team a 6-3 lead.
James McCann's bases-loaded single off Rays reliever Ryan Webb made it 6-4, but Erasmo Ramirez replaced Webb and induced a inning-ending double play grounder from Jose Iglesias.
Cabrera crushed his second homer, a solo shot in the seventh to straightaway center, to cut the Rays' lead to one.
Pearce's led off the eighth with his home run to give the Rays a 7-5 advantage.
Souza, placed in the leadoff spot with Brandon Guyer getting a rest, hit Sanchez's second delivery over the left-field wall. The Rays tacked on two more runs in the inning on Corey Dickerson's run-scoring double and Morrison's RBI single.
Andriese gave one of those runs back when he balked in the second, allowing Justin Upton to score from third. Detroit tied it in the third on Cabrera's one-out, two-run shot to the opposite field.
NOTES: The Rays signed C J.P. Arencibia to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Durham on Friday. The 30-year-old Arencibia played 24 games for the Rays last season and batted .310 with six homers and 17 RBIs. He appeared in 12 games this spring for Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia's Triple-A affiliate. C Carlos Corporan, who was playing for the Bulls, was released. ... Tampa Bay began a stretch of 20 consecutive days without a break. "That's a long stretch, but we kind of complained about having too many off-days, so 20 straight's good when you're playing well," manager Kevin Cash said. ... Detroit C James McCann had a .118 average entering the game. He hit .264 with seven homers and 41 RBIs in 114 games last season. "The big picture is he's going to learn from this and it's going to help him the rest of his career," manager Brad Ausmus said.