Rangers score early, hold on to beat Tigers

Mark Mathias went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer to lift the Texas Rangers to a 7-6 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday in Arlington, Texas.

Texas won for the fifth time in six games.

Riley Greene hit a home run, a triple and a single, driving in four runs in defeat for the Tigers, who had won three of their previous four.

Texas used the long ball to jump out to an early 4-0 lead.

The first home run came courtesy of Nathaniel Lowe, who blasted a shot to center in the first to give Texas a 1-0 lead.

Then in the second, Ezequiel Duran hit a three-run shot to left-center.

Detroit answered in the third, cutting the deficit to 4-2 on RBI singles by Greene and Harold Castro.

The Rangers took a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Leody Taveras, and then Mathias hit a two-run home run to right-center that made it 7-2.

Detroit pulled within 7-4 in the fifth when Greene drove home Akil Baddoo with an RBI triple, then came home on a throwing error by Texas second baseman Marcus Semien.

The score remained that way until there was one out in the top of the ninth, when Greene blasted a two-run home run to right off Texas reliever Jose Leclerc.

However, following a single by Victor Reyes, Leclerc struck out Javier Baez and Castro to end the game.

Lowe, Taveras and Bubba Thompson each had two hits for Texas.

Glenn Otto (6-8) was the winning pitcher, allowing four runs on five hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three.

Taylor Hearn tossed two hitless innings and Jonathan Hernandez a hitless eighth inning for Texas.

Tyler Alexander (3-8) took the loss, allowing all seven runs and eight hits in three innings. He fanned three and walked one.