Dein erstes Forum » Los Angeles Lakers motivated him against the Blazers

DETROIT -- Justin Verlander could sense Miguel Cabrera was on the verge of breaking out of his slump -- even before the Detroit sluggers home run. "You like to see results, but he really did take some great swings yesterday and that was just a precursor to today," Verlander said Tuesday night. "Hopefully that gets him jump-started." Cabrera hit a two-run homer, Verlander pitched seven solid innings and the Tigers held on for an 8-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night. Cabrera was 4 for 23 on this homestand before going 3 for 5 in Detroits win. Cabrera hit a homer and a double off Chicagos Charlie Leesman (0-1), who was called up from the minors to start in place of an injured Chris Sale. "No offence to Charlie, but Im sure those guys were pretty excited when they heard Chris was scratched," Chicagos Adam Dunn said. "That would be true no matter which pitcher we were sending out there instead of him." Verlander (3-1) had little to worry about after allowing a first-inning homer to Jose Abreu. He allowed two runs and eight hits, striking out seven and walking two. Chicagos Dayan Viciedo had a career-high four hits, and Dunn hit a two-run homer in the ninth to pull the White Sox within two. Joba Chamberlain got the final out for his first save, retiring Alexei Ramirez on a liner to left with one on. Ian Kinsler doubled twice for the Tigers, who sent 10 men to the plate in a five-run third inning. Cabrera improved his average to .235 on the season and at least momentarily calmed concerns about his early struggles. After Kinslers double in the first, Cabrera lined a double of his own to the wall in right-centre field, tying the game at 1. Kinsler added a two-run double in the third, and Cabrera followed with a drive to right that Viciedo seemed to have measured at first. With the wind blowing out much of the night, the ball carried just over the wall to put the Tigers up 5-1. It was Cabreras second home run of the year, and it came on the first pitch. "In that situation, youve got to come aggressive and try to get a good pitch to hit," Cabrera said. Nick Castellanos added a sacrifice fly later in the inning, and Detroit scored two more runs in the fifth when Alex Avila hit an RBI double and scored on a double by Rajai Davis to make it 8-1. Avila went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .227. It was 8-3 entering the ninth, and Detroits Phil Coke struck out the first two hitters of the inning, but Marcus Semien doubled, Paul Konerko hit an RBI single and Dunn homered to right. Chamberlain came on and walked Viciedo before J.D. Martinez caught Ramirezs liner in left. Abreu opened the scoring in the first with a drive that cleared the wall in centre for his sixth homer of the season. Verlander did not have a perfect inning all night, but he kept the White Sox from stringing too many hits together, and his Detroit teammates gave him more than enough run support. Sale was supposed to face Verlander in a marquee matchup of AL Central aces, but the left-hander went on the disabled list before the game with a strained flexor muscle in his throwing arm. Leesmans second career start did not go well. The Tigers hit the ball hard off him right from the start, and he allowed five straight hits -- including two doubles and a homer -- before getting an out in the third. Leesman allowed six runs and nine hits in 2 2-3 innings. NOTES: Every starter in the Detroit lineup had at least one hit. The Tigers finished with 15. ... Leesmans previous start came last season, when he also made seven relief appearances for the White Sox and finished with an ERA of 7.04. ... Detroit LHP Drew Smyly (1-1) faces Chicago RHP Andre Rienzo (0-0) on Wednesday night. Air Max Sale Uk . Fielder ended 4-for-5 with a solo homer, while Avila was 4-for-4 with two runs scored for the Tigers, who put the brakes on a three-game skid and rebounded from a loss in Mondays opener. Victor Martinez and Austin Jackson both contributed two hits, an RBI and a run scored as Detroit maintained its healthy lead atop the AL Central. Nike Air Max Clearance Uk . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. http://www.airmaxsaleuk.com/ . -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again. Nike Air Max Cheap Uk . Louis Blues and back into top spot of the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings. The Sharks had been ranked No. Air Max On Sale Uk . The 49ers announced the deal Tuesday. San Francisco selected Lloyd in the fourth round of the 2003 draft.PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Trail Blazers have had few breathers during this seven-game homestand, but Saturday nights finale seemed well on the way to an easy victory.Portland caught Orlando short-handed and riding a five-game losing streak. The Blazers were rolling early, and the Magic couldnt shoot straight. Portland was about to coast to a victory when Magic centre Nikola Vucevic got hot and extended the Blazers for four quarters before they secured a 103-92 win.LaMarcus Aldridge hit 10 of 22 shots and scored 25 points to lead Portland (29-8). The Blazers tied Golden State for most wins in the NBA this season.Vucevic made 15 of 23 shots, scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. But he couldnt stop Orlando (13-27) from losing its sixth consecutive game.As has often been the case during Portlands 6-1 homestand, the Blazers needed a big fourth quarter to pull out the win. Wesley Matthews scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth, including two free throws that gave the Blazers the lead for good at 87-85 with 3:56 remaining.Portland appeared on its way a rout at the outset, as Orlando made just 5 of 22 shots during the first quarter, and trailed by as many as 19 in the first half. Then the Blazers eased up, Vucevic took over and the Magic often had Portland on the ropes in the second half.It was a great start for us, but we relaxed because we just thought it was going to be easy. We took what we did for granted and they took advantage of that, Portland guard Damian Lillard said.Vucevic had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, then continued to punish Portland by scoring twice during Orlandos 11-0 run early in the third quarter.Portland eventually found an antidote in Matthews.Matthews made several hustle plays during thee fourth quarter, including two steals and a circus-like reverse layup that gave the Blazers a 91-85 lead.dddddddddddd Matthews appeared to finish Orlando when his 3-pointer with 1:19 left put Portland up 96-89.Thats what he does for us every night. Hes a soldier, Lillard said of Matthews.Portland coach Terry Stotts noted his teams struggles, but liked the result and the Blazers finishing kick.We made a lot of plays in the last five minutes to secure a win. It was a little disappointing to give up the lead, but in the end, we did what we needed to do, Stotts said.Vucevic said Fridays 14-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers motivated him against the Blazers.I wanted to come out aggressive and have a better performance than last night, Vucevic said. We wanted to come out and show a better performance and I think we did that, against one of the best teams in the league. We played them to the end.Portland had five players in double figures.Victor Oladipo had 18 points and eight rebounds for Orlando.The Magic out-rebounded Portland 49-43. The Blazers lead the NBA in rebounding at 46.7 per game.TIP-INSMagic: F Tobias Harris (ankle) and G Evan Fournier (knee) both sat out against the Blazers. They both suffered injuries during Fridays game against the Los Angeles Lakers. ... G Devyn Marble made his first NBA career start. ... The Magics six-game losing streak is a season high.Trail Blazers: G Allen Crabbe strained his left knee during Thursdays win over Miami, and will miss at least two games. ... Portland went 6-1 on its seven-game home stand, losing only the East Division-leading Atlanta. ... The Blazers won its NBA-best 19th home game.UP NEXTMagic: Visit Chicago on MondayTrail Blazers: Visit Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday ' ' '