Martinez Homers To Back Price As Tigers Beat Blue Jays, 8-3

DETROIT (AP) — J.D. Martinez homered and David Price pitched seven strong innings as the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 on Saturday afternoon.

Before the game, the Tigers placed Miguel Cabrera on the disabled list for the first time in his 13-year career. Detroit has scored 15 runs in 14 innings since losing their best offensive player.

Alex Avila, making his first career start at first base in place of Cabrera, made the day's most spectacular defensive play, diving into the crowd far down the right-field line to retire Russell Martin in the fourth inning.

Prince (8-2) pitched seven innings, giving up one run on eight hits and a walk, striking out seven. The Tigers are now 14-3 when he starts and 27-36 with anyone else.

In the ninth, Jeff Ferrell allowed a two-run homer to Chris Colabello while making his major-league debut. He had only pitched one inning above Double-A before being called up on Friday.

R.A. Dickey (3-9) took the loss, allowing five runs on 11 hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings.

The Tigers scored four times in the first, showing they can still hit a little without their two-time AL MVP. Ian Kinsler led off by being hit by a Dickey knuckler and took third on Yoenis Cespedes' double. Victor Martinez drove home the first run with a groundout, and J.D. Martinez followed with his 22nd homer of the season.

Dickey retired Avila for the second out, but Nick Castellanos doubled and scored on James McCann's triple.

Detroit added a fifth run in the fourth on Cespedes's RBI single, but Kevin Pillar got the Blue Jays on the board with a fifth-inning homer.

Toronto could never sustain a rally against Price, and unlike Friday, where they were no-hit for seven innings before score six times in the eighth, they couldn't get enough runs late.

Jose Iglesias scored on a wild pitch by Steve Delabar in the eighth, and Kinsler followed with a two-run single.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Blue Jays: LHP Felix Doubront threw 33 pitches in relief Friday night after being called up earlier in the day. Doubront has spent much of this season recovering from a shoulder injury, but looked good in nine games with Triple-A Buffalo, and is expected to join Toronto's rotation next week.

Tigers: Cabrera is expected to miss at least six weeks with a Grade 3 — the worst rating — strain of his left calf. Cabrera sustained the injury Friday while breaking for second base on an attempted hit-and-run.

UP NEXT

The teams conclude the three-game series Sunday with Justin Verlander (0-1, 5.09) facing Toronto's Marco Estrada (5-4, 3.58). Verlander will be making his fourth start of an injury-plagued season, while Estrada is 4-4 with a 4.04 ERA since moving into the rotation in early May.

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