DETROIT -- At last, the Detroit Tigers had a reason to smile.
Carlos Pena hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning and Detroit won for only the fourth time in 29 games this season, beating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-3 Sunday.
The Tigers set a season high for runs, snapped a six-game losing streak and avoided the worst 29-game start in major league history. Baltimore of the American Association opened 3-26 in 1882.
After coming into the weekend with only 61 runs in 27 games, Detroit has begun to break out of its season-long slump with 13 runs and 23 hits the past two days.
"We swung the bat well the last two games in a row," manager Alan Trammell said. "Just hope it's the start of a roll."
Rookie starter Jeremy Bonderman (2-4) allowed just two runs and three hits in six innings, striking out five and walking one. He retired his last 12 batters but was replaced to start the seventh because he had thrown 118 and 102 pitches, respectively, in his previous two starts.
"I felt good," Bonderman said. "But I had thrown a lot of pitches before and they wanted to sit me down."
Chris Spurling, also a rookie, pitched three innings for his first career save.
Jorge Sosa (1-4) took the loss, allowing four runs and nine hits in seven innings.
"Sosa pitched fine," Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella said. "He's pitched about the same game four times in a row. He keeps you in the ballgame."
The Tigers, who had 11 hits, took a 1-0 lead in the first inning without the benefit of a hit. Walks to Andres Torres and Omar Infante leading off the game led to Dmitri Young's RBI groundout.
The Devil Rays went ahead in the second on Toby Hall's home run into the left-field stands just inside the foul pole. It followed Al Martin's ground-rule double.
"I made a bad pitch. It happens," Bonderman said. "Came back and battled and I battled all game."
Tampa Bay's Aubrey Huff made a bid to make it 4-1 with two outs in the third. But Tigers left fielder Craig Monroe made a leaping catch of Huff's long line drive to the wall and robbed him of a two-run homer.
"I didn't see it, I heard it," Huff said. "I reached first and heard the crowd. Then I saw the replay. It was a great catch."
Monroe tied it 2-2 with an RBI single in the fourth. Detroit had a chance to take the lead with two outs, but Monroe was thrown out at the plate on Ramon Santiago's double into the right-field corner.
Third base coach Juan Samuel was waving Monroe home all the way, but appeared to change his mind as Monroe rounded third. But it was too late for Monroe to stop and he was thrown out by about 15 feet on second baseman Marlon Anderson's relay to Hall, the catcher.
"I kind of second-guessed myself," Samuel said. "But I figured, keep going."
Pena's second home run in two games gave the Tigers a 4-2 lead in the sixth. He hit a 2-0 pitch over the left-center fence with Young on first. He led off with a single.
"I'm just trying to figure out the right approach," said Pena, who is hitting .202 with three home runs and seven RBI. "And today it happened."
Detroit added three runs in the eighth. Bobby Higginson scored on pitcher Victor Zambrano's throwing error, Young scored on a wild pitch by Zambramo and Eric Munson hit a sacrifice fly.
"The fact that we got three runs in the eighth inning was huge," Trammell said. "Four-two in the eighth and you figure you've got a real good chance to win and I thought we were going to win. But the way things have been going ..."
Huff hit a solo home run in the ninth, his third in two games.
Notes
- Tampa Bay rookie Rocco Baldelli went hitless in two straight games for the first time this season.
- Pena has six hits in his last 16 at-bats.
- Tampa Bay stole two bases and had five steals in the three-game series.
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