Everything's Clicking For Tigers

Things seem to be coming together for the Tigers.

They banged out 20 hits Tuesday in an 8-1 win at Texas after getting 18 the night before. Those two outbursts took the dust off the history books.

Rick Porcello turned in six solid innings as Detroit won its fourth in a row, with Nos. 2 and 3 coming despite five-inning outings by Brad Penny and Max Scherzer.

It's a sign a team is going well when two starters stagger to get through five innings -- and both get wins.

The recent hot streak seemed to begin when manager Jim Leyland restored Joaquin Benoit to his setup role, through necessity more than anything else.

But the move worked. And so did bringing David Purcey over from Oakland. Purcey hasn't always been perfect, but he has been effective in nailing down the seventh inning for Leyland. He worked two innings Tuesday night, because, as Leyland noted wryly, "I was going to pitch him one inning, but since (his wife) had twins, I pitched him two."

Al Alburquerque has been a godsend. Walks are still a problem, but he's got the great eraser -- a 98 mph fastball plus a slider that could clean whiteboards.

When you hit, pitch and play defense, you win. And when you win, your manager can tell jokes.

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