Tigers 11, Mets 3
NEW YORK -- Rick Porcello, pitching about an hour from his hometown, threw seven solid innings and Andy Dirks' two-run homer in the sixth inning gave the Detroit Tigers the lead for good Sunday afternoon in their 11-3 win over the New York Mets in front of 32,084 at Citi Field.
The Tigers (77-53) swept the three-game series and improved to 25-11 since the All-Star break. The Mets (58-70) have lost four straight, their longest losing streak since they dropped four in a row from May 31-June 4.
Porcello, who was born in Morristown, N.J., and went to high school at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, improved to 10-7 -- the fifth time in as many big league seasons that he's won at least 10 games -- while pitching in front of 17 friends and family members.
Porcello allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four. He retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced after surrendering a go-ahead homer to Travis d'Arnaud in the fourth inning.
Miguel Cabrera staked Porcello to a 2-0 lead with his 42nd homer, a two-run shot in the first inning that landed in the walkway of an overhang in the second deck in left field. The Mets scored once in the third and took the lead in the fourth on d'Arnaud's two-run homer -- the first of his career -- before the Tigers rallied in the sixth.
Victor Martinez led off the inning with a single and Dirks followed two pitches later with a homer to right. Dirks was just 2-for-17 in the seven games prior to Saturday but went 4-for-6 with two walks and three RBIs in eight plate appearances over the last two games.
Bruce Rondon struck out Marlon Byrd to strand Lucas Duda at third in the eighth inning before the Tigers added seven runs during a ninth inning that included seven singles, a bases-loaded walk drawn by Dirks and two wild pitches.
Cabrera continued his pursuit of a second straight Triple Crown by going 3-for-4. Cabrera now leads the American League in batting average (.360) and RBI (128) and is four homers behind the Orioles' Chris Davis.
Martinez, Austin Jackson, Prince Fielder, Omar Infante and Ramon Santiago each had two hits for the Tigers.
Dillon Gee (9-9) took the loss for the Mets after allowing four runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out two over six innings. Gee, who entered the game with a 1.47 ERA in his last eight starts, didn't have a single 1-2-3 inning.
Daniel Murphy had an RBI single in the second for the Mets while Juan Lagares finished with two hits.
NOTES: Mets 3B Wilmer Flores, who has been battling a sprained right ankle, got the day off. Justin Turner drew the start instead. Flores was hurt on Aug. 12 and missed three of the Mets' next four games but had played in seven straight prior to Sunday ... The Mets signed OF Ricardo Cespedes, a 16-year-old Dominican. Baseball America reported the Mets gave him a $725,000 signing bonus. ... Tigers SS Jose Iglesias missed his second straight game with a sore left elbow suffered when he was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of Friday night's game. ... The single by Porcello was the fourth of his career.
