Ivan Rodriguez hit a two-run, tiebreaking homer in his return to Texas, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Rangers 8-7 on Friday night in Arlington, Texas.
Rodriguez, playing against the Rangers for the second time, broke a 5-5 tie with his shot in the eighth off Jeff Nelson (0-3). It was his fifth homer of the season.
Carlos Guillen went 3-for-4, including a three-run homer and RBI triple, as the Tigers snapped a four-game losing streak.
Rodriguez spent the first 11 1/2 seasons of his career in Texas. The catcher made his major league debut at age 19, then was selected to 10 All-Star games and won 10 Gold Gloves.
He left the Rangers after not being offered a new contract or salary arbitration after the 2002 season. He won a World Series last season with Florida, one of three National League teams that played in Texas, then signed a $40 million, four-year contract with Detroit.
After Fernando Vina's one-out infield single in the eighth, Rodriguez homered. He had been 3-for-32 — all singles — with 13 strikeouts in his career against Nelson, including 0-for-7 with four strikeouts in the postseason against the former Yankees pitcher.
Rondell White followed the homer with a single, and Guillen tripled.
Al Levine (3-2), the third Tigers pitcher, worked 1 1/3 innings. Ugueth Urbina, another former Ranger, worked the ninth and allowed two runs before finishing for his third save in as many chances.
The Rangers made it close in the ninth when Fernando Vina couldn't handle Brad Fullmer's grounder, allowing Hank Blalock to score. David Dellucci made it 8-7 with an RBI single.
When Rodriguez came to bat in the first, he received a loud, extended ovation and stepped out of the batter's box briefly before grounding out. He finished 1-for-5, and the cheers weren't so loud after his homer.
Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman fell behind 4-0 after just six batters. He then retired 14 batters in a row until Alfonso Soriano's two-out single in the fifth, but didn't make it out of the next inning.
Texas loaded the bases in the sixth on a one-out walk, a single and an intentional walk to .105 hitter Brian Jordan. Rookie catcher Gerald Laird grounded out on a high chopper to drive a run to make it 5-5, and Bonderman walked another to reload the bases.
Joaquin Benoit struck out seven and walked just one in six innings, but the Rangers starter gave up two homers.
Guillen's three-run homer, a 412-foot shot that ricocheted off a post in the second deck of stands in right, got the Tigers within 4-3 with no outs in the second.
Guillen had a two-out single before Bobby Higginson's homer in the fourth put Detroit ahead. Higginson had just one extra-base hit in 57 previous at-bats over 18 games.
Young led off for Texas with his sixth homer, and league-leading 47th hit. Blalock doubled, Soriano was hit by a pitch and Fullmer had a bloop RBI double. After Mark Teixeira walked, Dellucci hit a two-run single for a 4-0 lead.
RED SOX 7, ROYALS 6: At Boston, Mark Bellhorn tied the score with a two-run homer in the ninth inning and pinch-hitter Jason Varitek doubled home the winning run. Mike MacDougal (0-1) walked Johnny Damon leading off the ninth, and Bellhorn homered. Scott Sullivan relieved and Varitek doubled, with Ramirez barely beating the relay throw.
BLUE JAYS 5, WHITE SOX 4: At Toronto, Reed Johnson hit a game-winning RBI single in the ninth inning and Terry Adams (3-1) pitched the ninth for the win. Orlando Hudson and Eric Hinske each hit two-run homers for Toronto. Blue Jays outfielder Carlos Delgado had two hits to surpass Lloyd Moseby for second on the team's career list with 1,320.
ANGELS 1, DEVIL RAYS 0: At Anaheim, Calif., John Lackey pitched a three-hitter to outduel Mark Hendrickson and David Eckstein had an RBI single to help Anaheim extend its winning streak to seven games. Lackey (3-3) went the distance for the fourth time in 57 career starts, striking out three and walking one. He threw 107 pitches, 73 for strikes in his third shutout. Hendrickson (1-3) allowed a run and seven hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking one.
MARINERS 6, YANKEES 2: At Seattle, Edgar Martinez hit a two-run homer and drove in two more runs with his 500th career double, leading Seattle over New York. Martinez became the 39th player since 1900 to hit 500 doubles. Ryan Franklin (2-2) pitched into the seventh inning in front of the largest crowd in Safeco Field history — 46,491.
New York's Jon Lieber (1-1) made his second start of the year after missing last season following Tommy John surgery. He allowed six runs and nine hits in six innings, with two strikeouts and a wild pitch that gave up a run.