DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers looked dormant with the bats until a pitch from Chicagos Chris Sale hit Victor Martinez around th

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DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers looked dormant with the bats until a pitch from Chicagos Chris Sale hit Victor Martinez around the back of his left shoulder. https://www.cheapsabres.com/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Sabres Jerseys 2020 . Then tempers flared, the benches and bullpens emptied -- and Sales shutout didnt last much longer. Martinez came around to score the tying run in the sixth inning, and after Sale came out of the game, Chicagos bullpen was no match for the Tigers. Detroit won 6-1 on Wednesday -- and clinched a spot in the post-season when Seattle lost to Toronto. The worst the Tigers can end up with now is a wild card. Detroit is trying for its fourth straight AL Central crown, and the Tigers took a two-game lead over second-place Kansas City, which lost at Cleveland. Detroits magic number to clinch the division is three. With one out in the sixth and Chicago up 1-0, Sales first pitch to Martinez hit the Detroit slugger. Martinez walked slowly to first, and the two started jawing at each other. Sale appeared to point out toward centre field in agitated fashion as Martinez went to first. "They were claiming that someone with binoculars in centre field was giving signs to Victor," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "I think its a little weak that they would hit him. If they injure Victor there and were in the playoff hunt, thats bad news. That just cant happen. "He clearly did it on purpose. He made it obvious." Sale didnt accuse the Tigers of stealing signs afterward, and he said he wasnt specifically gesturing toward centre field. "I was just throwing my arms up, like you do when you are upset," the left-hander said. "I wasnt really trying to control where they pointed." Sale appeared to tip his hat toward the outfield in the third inning after striking out Martinez. "There was a fan that was just wearing me out in the bullpen before the game, telling me that I wasnt any good, and telling me how much Victor was going to hit me," Sale said. "So that was just having some fun with him." Justin Verlander (15-12) allowed a run in eight innings for Detroit. Sale allowed a run and four hits in six innings. He struck out 10 and walked three, becoming his franchises career leader with his 18th game of at least 10 strikeouts. Ed Walsh had 17. But Chicagos slim lead slipped away after he hit Martinez. "I think he just woke the whole team up," said Martinez, who is 15 of 29 for his career off Sale. The benches and bullpens emptied, but order was quickly restored. J.D. Martinez followed with a double and Nick Castellanos hit a sacrifice fly to tie it at 1. Ian Kinslers RBI double the following inning off Javy Guerra (2-4) put Detroit ahead, and when Kinsler reached second, he put his hands up in front of his eyes, pantomiming someone looking through binoculars. Miguel Cabrera added a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Detroit scored three runs in the eighth on a well-executed squeeze play by Andrew Romine and RBI singles by Rajai Davis and Kinsler. Cabrera struck out four times, only the third time in his career thats happened and the first time since Sept. 17, 2010. QUALITY START The brouhaha involving Sale and Martinez overshadowed another fine outing by Verlander, who allowed seven hits and struck out six. Verlander (15-12) has not been at his best this year, but the former Cy Young Award winner has made it to the eighth inning in back-to-back starts. "I think I was getting ahead of guys -- good fastball control, good life on the fastball," Verlander said. AMONG THE LEADERS This was Sales last start of the season, and he finishes with a 2.17 ERA, which will almost surely be good enough to win the American League ERA title. Seattles Felix Hernandez is at 2.34. TRAINERS ROOM White Sox: After the bench-clearing incident, Sale pitched the rest of the sixth before being pulled after 101 pitches. Manager Robin Ventura was already trying to ease the left-hander into the off-season. Sale finishes the year at 174 innings after missing a month early on with a muscle strain near his left elbow. Tigers: Detroit RHP Anibal Sanchez (pectoral strain) still has not pitched since being activated from the disabled list before Tuesdays game. Hes now part of the Tigers bullpen but was not used Wednesday. UP NEXT White Sox: After losing two of three to the Tigers, Chicago has another chance to play spoiler in a four-game series against the Royals. White Sox LHP Jose Quintana (9-10) faces Kansas City RHP James Shields (14- on Thursday night. Tigers: Detroit hosts four games against Minnesota. Tigers RHP Max Scherzer (17-5) takes the mound against Twins RHP Trevor May (3-5) on Thursday night. https://www.cheapsabres.com/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Buffalo Sabres Gear . -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand. https://www.cheapsabres.com/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Fake Sabres Jerseys . Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise. https://www.cheapsabres.com/" class="TyTxtSmlC">https://www.cheapsabres.com/ . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. ARLINGTON, Texas -- When Kevin Kouzmanoff was riding the buses in Double-A two seasons ago, he kept his focus on returning to the majors and providing the kind of production that he is now delivering for the Texas Rangers. "You never know what can happen in baseball," Kouzmanoff said after helping the Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 8-6 Thursday. "Here I am. Its great to be back." Kouzmanoff hit two doubles and scored twice. Texas lost the opener of the four-game series on Monday night, but won the last three. The 32-year-old Kouzmanoff is hitting .414 since being promoted from Triple-A Round Rock on April 9 after starting third baseman Adrian Beltre strained his left quadriceps. Kouzmanoff has hit in all eight games in which he has played, beginning with a pinch-hitting appearance followed by seven straight starts. Beltre was put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday. Shin-Soo Choo homered for Texas and J.P. Arencibia had a pair of RBI groundouts. Robinson Cano hit his first homer for the Mariners, going back-to-back with Corey Hart. Cano is in a 3-for-18 slump. The Rangers broke a 6-all tie in the fifth inning when Arencibia drove in a run with a grounder and Mitch Moreland scored on a wild pitch by Joe Beimel (0-1). Pedro Figueroa (2-1) was the second of five Texas relievers who held Seattle scoreless. He earned his second victory in less than 24 hours -- he was Wednesday nights winner when the Rangers rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 victory. Kouzmanoff was a major league regular from 2007-11 for three clubs before spending the past two seasons in the minor league systems of Kansas City and Miami. He signed a minor league contract with Texas in December and hit .370 during spring training. Kouzmanoff was the Rangers last cut in spring training and sent to Round Rock when the club decided to complete its opening day roster with more middle-infield help because second baseman Jurickson Profar began the season on the disabled list. https://www.cheapsabres.com/" class="TyTxtSmlC">Sabres Jerseys 2021. . "Im not the player that Beltre is. Hes an unbelievable player," Kouzmanoff said. "We all have to do things that are us." Asked the source of his hot streak, he said, "Eating oatmeal every morning for breakfast." Texas Tanner Scheppers, in his first season as a big league starter, made the shortest of his four starts and was victimized by the big inning for the third time. He took the mound with a 4-0 lead and then gave up six runs in the third while recording just one out. "It doesnt feel good," said Scheppers, the Rangers eighth-inning setup man for most of last season. "Luckily, the bullpen picked me up. The offence went out and scored runs. You cant ask for any more than that." Scheppers said he wasnt worried about being sent back to the bullpen. Rangers manager Ron Washington echoed that sentiment. "Its nothing that has crossed my mind," Washington said. "We know its a work in progress." The Rangers made it 6-all by chasing Mariners starter Erasmo Ramirez with two runs in the third. In his last three starts, Ramirez has lasted no more than five innings and allowed 13 earned runs and 18 hits. Hart reached base four times, with a double and two walks in addition to his team-leading fourth homer. He played right field for his first outfield appearance since July 2012. "Down 4-0 at one point and to battle back and take the lead, we definitely have fight in this team," Hart said. NOTES: Rangers LHP Matt Harrison, on the disabled list with back stiffness following two surgeries last year, is scheduled to make a rehab start on Saturday for Double-A Frisco. ... Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said he hasnt decided who will start Sundays series finale at Miami. ' ' '