DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Tigers didn’t get as much rest as they might have wanted Thursday on their day off, but it was enough to get them hitting again.
In their first game after a 4-7 road trip that included four games in a 48-hour stretch in Chicago, the Tigers had a season-high 11 extra-base hits in a 15-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.
“We got in early Thursday morning, so it wasn’t ideal, but the bats certainly came alive,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “It was good to see our big guys swinging the bat again.”
Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez combined for five hits, all for extra bases, and six RBIs in eight at-bats.
Martinez went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and homer, but flew out to right in the seventh inning to miss out on Detroit’s first cycle since Carlos Guillen in 2006. Martinez missed the first 33 games of the season with an ankle injury, and is hitting .297 with a .797 slugging percentage in 20 games.
“He’s been unbelievable,” Ausmus said. “He had a little lull on the road trip, but other than that, he’s been as good as any hitter in baseball.”
Michael Fulmer (6-3) allowed a season-high five runs and seven hits in seven innings. The Tigers had been shut out in his past two starts.
“I’ll give up five and take a win over giving up one and taking a loss any day of the week,” he said. “I’m not worried about my game. I’m just happy we got a win.”
White Sox starter Derek Holland (4-5) allowed eight runs and eight hits, including three homers, in 2 1/3 innings.
“This one is totally on me,” Holland said. “I was fighting my mechanics all night, and everything I threw ended up over the plate. That’s a great offense, and they are going to hurt you when you make that many mistakes.”
The Tigers took the lead in the first when Nicholas Castellanos walked and scored on Cabrera’s RBI double. Two batters later, Martinez made it 2-0 with a double to left-center field.
Cabrera hit a two-run double in the second inning to become the 39th player with 1,000 extra-base hits, including active batters Adrian Beltre, Albert Pujols and Carlos Beltran.
Leury Garcia’s RBI single pulled the White Sox to 5-1 in the third, but Holland allowed homers to Martinez and Hicks in the bottom of the inning to give the Tigers a seven-run lead.
Michael Ynoa replaced Holland and gave up a single and a triple before leaving with soreness in his right quad.
The Tigers led 10-1 before Chicago scored three runs in the fifth. Castellanos made it 11-4 with an RBI in the bottom of the inning, and Detroit added three more runs in the sixth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: Ynoa will be evaluated on Saturday before a decision is made on his roster spot. … RHP Jake Petricka (strained lat) was scheduled to start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Friday night, while RHP James Shields (strained lat) is expected to make a rehab start for Charlotte on Saturday.
Tigers: DH Victor Martinez left the game in the fifth inning with flu-like symptoms. … RHP Anibal Sanchez, who has been starting in Triple-A Toledo in an attempt to revive his career, left Friday’s start with a left-leg injury.
UGLY START TO A TRIP
The White Sox were playing the first of nine games on a three-city, ten-day road trip, and manager Rick Renteria acknowledged it wasn’t the ideal start.
“This is going to be a tough trip, so you want the first game to be better,” said Renteria, whose team will also visit Tampa and Cleveland.
BOYD HEADING FOR TRIPLE-A
The Tigers optioned starting pitcher Matt Boyd to Triple-A Toledo after the game, and will recall LHP Daniel Stumpf from the Mud Hens on Saturday. Boyd is 2-5 with a 5.69 ERA in 11 starts, and has gone 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA in his last four games.
“I have no one but myself to blame for this,” Boyd said.
With a day off on Monday, the Tigers won’t need a fifth starter until June 10.
AVILA STILL STANDING PAT
Tigers general manager Al Avila spoke to the media Friday afternoon, saying the team is still committed to trying to win the AL Central title this season, and that no decisions will bemade about selling until closer to the trade deadline.
UP NEXT
White Sox: RHP Miguel Gonzalez (3-5, 6.99) is scheduled to start for Chicago on Saturday in the second game of the weekend series. Gonzalez is 0-4 with a 6.56 ERA in his last four road starts, but beat Detroit on May 28 in Chicago.
Tigers: RHP Jordan Zimmerman (4-4, 6.47 ERA) will pitch for the Tigers, six days after losing to Gonzalez and the White Sox. In that start, he allowed seven runs and eight hits in five innings.
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