By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Tigers 7, Pirates 4- The Tigers picked up their third straight win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon.
Nick Castellanos paced Detroit with a home run, double, single and four RBIs while Ian Kinsler chipped in with two hits.
The Tigers offense have scored at least four runs in their first eight games of the season.
Detroit’s Jordan Zimmermann picked up the win pitching six scoreless innings, allowing six hits while striking out four batters.
The Tigers’ closer Francisco Rodriguez pitched a clean ninth inning for his second save of the season.
The Pirates were led by David Freese with three hits and an RBI while John Jaso added three hits.
Detroit will continue its road trip with a three-game weekend series against the Houston Astros starting Friday night.
Record: 6-2
Tied for 2nd Place in AL Central Division (1/2 game behind Chicago)
1.5 games ahead of Cleveland and NY Yankees for last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 154
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 155
Next Game: 04/15/2016 @ Houston Astros 8:10 p.m. @ Minute Maid Park
Hitting stats: Nick Castellanos 2B (2) HR (2) 4 RBI (7), Tyler Collins 2B (1) RBI (1), J.D. Martinez 2B (5), Bobby Wilson RBI (1), Ian Kinsler SB (1).
Pitching stats: Jordan Zimmermann W (2-0) 6 IP 6 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 4 K, Francisco Rodriguez SV (2) 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 0 K.
