A dish best served cold (for Ian).

Tigers 8, Rangers 2

The last time the Tigers were in Arlington their starting pitchers were getting assaulted for many, many runs. Drew Smyly (12 GS, 73.1 IP, 3.19 ERA, 4.15 FIP, 0.8 fWAR) made sure last year’s disease didn’t carry over, twirling six innings of one run ball via five hits, a walk, and five strikeouts. Smyly was especially tough on the lefties and gave his offense a chance to take the reins. The Tigers made some rough baserunning mistakes, but the bats got hot and heavy in the 7th inning and pushed across five runs. Martinez, Martinez, Jackson, Avila, Suarez, Cabrera, and Martinez again all reached base in the inning with JDM making the big statement with his blast to centerfield. The Tigers also scored via a solo homer from Kinsler in the 1st and a two run single by Kinsler in the 8th, and his old fans absolutely loved it. The win makes it five in a row for the Tigers and pushes them three games up on the Royals in the Central. Anibal Sanchez (12 GS, 69.2 IP, 2.33 ERA, 2.44 FIP, 2.2 fWAR) will be in charge of taking the series on Wednesday.

The Moment: JD Martinez homers…again.