Raburn's three-run homer continues Tigers' dominance of Athletics

DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers came into this weekend's series reeling from a pair of bad losses while the Oakland Athletics had won two in a row.

It didn't take long for things to change.

Miguel Cabrera drove in four runs, Ryan Raburn hit a three-run homer and the Tigers roughed up the Athletics for the second straight night, winning 9-1 on Saturday.

Raburn, who entered the series hitting .095, has two homers and eight RBIs in two games.

"I told him that I was taking away his entrance music if he didn't start hitting," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "That's why he started hitting."

The Tigers have outscored Oakland 23-2 in the first two of a three-game series.

"The good thing is that we are adding on runs," Leyland said. "That's one of the big things. Everyone relaxes more when you score some runs, and that makes it easier to add more of them."

Oakland will try to salvage the series finale Sunday afternoon.

"We had a couple of good wins to finish the homestand, and then we play two games like this," Ryan Sweeney said. "It's hard to understand."

Rick Porcello (4-3) allowed one run on three hits and two walks in six innings. The 20-year-old rookie is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA in three May starts.

"I'm just throwing what Gerald [Laird] calls and trying to hit my spots," Porcello said. "I think in some of my previous starts, I was rushing things and trying to blow the ball past guys. Now I'm just trying to keep it down and get groundballs."

Dallas Braden (3-5) gave up six runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings.

"Dallas had us within 3-1, and he was one pitch away from getting out of the fifth, and then Raburn hits the homer," Oakland manager Bob Geren said. "That was tough for us."

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead when Laird ended an 0-for-26 slump with an RBI double in the second inning. Laird finished with three hits, including two doubles.

"I've been doing a lot of extra work, which I will continue to do," Laird said. "The first at-bat felt good, like I was getting something going, and it was great to get two more hits."

Oakland tied the game in the top of the third when Sweeney led off the inning with a ground-rule double to center and scored on Travis Buck's one-out single.

The Athletics, though, only managed two more hits in the game.

"Porcello was tough," Sweeney said. "He was moving the ball around, and then he'd throw one fastball that was 94 and one that was like batting practice, so you couldn't ever time him."

Detroit broke it open in the fifth. Curtis Granderson led off with a double and took third on Placido Polanco's single. Clete Thomas struck out, but Cabrera hit a dribbler down the first-base line and Braden threw wildly to the plate after tagging Cabrera, allowing Granderson to score.

Magglio Ordonez followed with a double to center, giving the Tigers a 3-1 lead. Brandon Inge walked and Raburn hit a three-run homer. Raburn had a grand slam and five RBIs in Friday's 14-1 win.

Detroit added a seventh run in the sixth and but missed on an eighth on a fluke play. With two out and runners on the corners, Cabrera hit a ball into the left-center gap. The ball bounced off Matt Holliday's glove and over the fence for a ground-rule double. Had it stayed in play, Thomas would have easily scored from first.

Cabrera added a two-run double in the eighth.

Game notes
The Tigers announced that Ordonez will miss the three-game Texas series that starts Tuesday to attend to "personal business." ... Jeremy Bonderman, who hasn't appeared in the majors since June 1 of last year due to a blood clot in his pitching shoulder, made a rehab start for Class A West Michigan Saturday night. Bonderman allowed two runs on six hits and a walk in seven inning, striking out four in a 13-6 win over Great Lakes. ... Despite Saturday's loss to the right-handed Porcello, Oakland is still 10-9 against righties this season, as opposed to 3-11 against left-handers. ... Joel Zumaya hit 100 mph three times in a four-pitch span in the eighth inning. The fourth pitch was recorded at 99.