Tigers 7, Braves 4
DETROIT -- Omar Infante drove in three runs, including a tie-breaking two-run homer in the fourth, as the Detroit Tigers beat the Atlanta Braves 7-4 at Comerica Park on Saturday.
Jhonny Peralta also had a two-run homer and Miguel Cabrera added two run-scoring singles as the Tigers handed the Braves their sixth loss in eight games before a sellout crowd of 42,881.
Rick Porcello (1-2) allowed three runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings for his first victory in four starts this season. He gave up nine runs in two-thirds of an inning in his previous outing against the Los Angeles Angels. Jose Valverde notched his second save.
Justin Upton hit his 12th homer in the eighth off Joaquin Benoit, increasing his franchise record for homers in the month of April. Kris Medlen (1-3) gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings and took the loss.
Detroit struck first on Peralta's second homer of the season. Peralta smacked a hanging curveball with Victor Martinez on first during the second inning.
Atlanta pecked away at Porcello to gain a 3-2 lead in the third. Dan Uggla drew a bases-loaded, one-out walk for the first run. B.J. Upton tied it with an RBI fielder's choice when second baseman Infante dropped the exchange. Freddie Freeman's bloop single to center then brought home Andrelton Simmons.
The Tigers tied it in the bottom of the inning with three consecutive singles by Austin Jackson, Torii Hunter and Cabrera. Cabrera's infield single could have easily been scored an error, as second baseman Uggla dropped a shovel toss from Simmons with his bare hand.
Infante put Detroit back on top 5-3 in the fourth with his first homer. His two-run blast came after Alex Avila drew a two-out walk.
Both sides quieted down until Upton's homer. Infante reestablished the two-run advantage with an eighth-inning double off Luis Avilan and Cabrera made it 7-4 with a single that glanced off center fielder B.J. Upton's glove.
NOTES: Martinez made his first appearance in the field this season, spelling Prince Fielder at first base. Martinez, who missed last season after undergoing knee surgery, started 20 of the first 21 games this season as the designated hitter. ... Justin Upton is two homers shy of the major-league record of 14 in April, held by Albert Pujols (2006) and Alex Rodriguez (2007). ... The Braves' Mike Minor and the Tigers' Doug Fister are scheduled to start the series finale on Sunday night. Fister will be making his 100th career start. ... Atlanta's all-time interleague record of 138-125 is the second-best winning percentage (.525) among National League teams behind St. Louis (125-110, .532). ... Tigers manager Jim Leyland said the Braves' aggressive power hitters facilitated Anibal Sanchez's record-breaking performance on Friday. Sanchez struck out a franchise-record 17 batters in eight innings. "They burn you with the long ball," he said. "They're very aggressive and he pitched to their aggressiveness. That's as good as it gets. One hundred and thirteen (years) and that's the most ever. That pretty much sums it up right there."
