Sep 16, 2006 (AP) Runs were tough to come by for the Detroit Tigers as their AL Central lead dwindled to one game. That changed big time in one inning Friday night and their lead in the division doubled. Magglio Ordonez hit a two-run homer in an eight-run fourth inning and Brandon Inge had a grand slam in the sixth in a 17-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Detroit had lost 17 of its last 25 games as the division lead, which was 10 games starting play on Aug. 8, was sliced to just one. But Minnesota lost 5-4 to Cleveland in 10 innings on Friday, and there was just a little more breathing room for the Tigers.
"This is important for this ballclub," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "It was nice to see the offense break out." Carlos Guillen and Sean Casey both had two hits in the fourth inning, and Guillen scored twice.
"This was a fun day," said Craig Monroe, who homered and scored three runs. "This proves that the bats haven't gone anywhere. This season is a grind, and everyone is going to have a slump.
" In other AL games on Friday, it was: Oakland 4, Chicago 2; Los Angeles 2, Texas 1 in 11 innings; Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 4 in 10 innings; and Seattle 11, Kansas City 8. Jeremy Bonderman 12-8 allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings, striking out seven for the Tigers. He was 0-4 in nine starts since July 24.
"I felt really comfortable out there for the first time in a while," Bonderman said. "Even in the bullpen before the game, I felt like I was really driving to the plate." Baltimore allowed its most runs since an 18-5 defeat to the New York Yankees on May 27, 2004, and lost for the 13th time in 17 games.
Hayden Penn 0-3 was hit hard for the third straight start, allowing seven runs, seven hits and three walks in 3 2-3 innings. His ERA dropped from 36.82 to 27.
00 in his longest outing of the season. Penn has started three times since Sept. 3 once each against division leaders Oakland, New York and Detroit and allowed 22 runs and 24 hits in 7 1-3 innings.
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