Upton Leads Tigers Past Pirates, MLB Scores

When new Tigers general manager Al Avila signed Justin Upton during the offseason to play left field and hit second, he had performances like Tuesday afternoon's in mind.

Upton had four hits, including a first-inning home run into a camera platform above the center-field fence, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2.

Upton entered batting .227 with 10 strikeouts in 22 at-bats, then raised his average to .333 with the 11th game of four hits or more in his big league career. According to MLB's Statcast system, the home run would have gone 451 feet had it landed unimpeded.

"That's probably a pitching wedge," he joked, "a wedge or my 9-iron, depending on conditions."

Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez are the only other active players who have reached the camera platform.

"We haven't seen many of those," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "Miggy's been out there and J.D., and Jose Abreu came close with the White Sox. That's all I can think of in two-plus years."

Giants 7, Padres 2

Jeff Samardzija did for the San Francisco Giants what the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks could not do this season -- hold Trevor Story hitless.

Story, the Colorado Rockies rookie shortstop who belted an MLB-record seven home runs in his first six games, went 0-for-4 Tuesday night in Denver.

Story struck out swinging three times and grounded out once against Samardzija, who went eight strong innings in the Giants' 7-2 win.

Samardzija acknowledged Story's great start but said he was also worried about Rockies outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Gerardo Parra.

"Those big power lefties," said Samardzija, a right-hander. "We respect him as a player and we're going to keep pitching to him tough because he's proven what he can do."

Story, who averaged 14 home runs in his five minor league seasons, also entered Tuesday with 12 RBIs. His torrid start had put him on pace for 189 home runs and 324 RBIs this season.

But Samardzija used a masterful cut fastball to silence Story and the Rockies and claim his first win for the Giants after signing a $90 million, five-year contract in the offseason.

Tuesday, April 12 Scoreboard

Detroit 8, Pittsburgh 2

Arizona 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 2

Washington 2, Atlanta 1

Philadelphia 3, San Diego 0

New York Yankees 3, Toronto 2

Baltimore 9, Boston 5

Miami 2, New York Mets 1

Tampa Bay 5, Cleveland 1

Kansas City 3, Houston 2

San Francisco 7, Colorado 0

Los Angeles Angels 5, Oakland 4

Texas 8, Seattle 0

Wednesday, April 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Miami at New York, 11:10 a.m.

Los Angeles at Oakland, 1:35 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 1:40 p.m.

Baltimore at Boston, 5 p.m.

Atlanta at Washington, 5:05 p.m.

San Diego at Philadelphia, 5:05 p.m.

Detroit at Pittsburgh, 5:05 p.m.

New York at Toronto, 5:07 p.m.

Cleveland at Tampa Bay, 5:10 p.m.

Cincinnati at Chicago, 6:05 p.m.

Chicago at Minnesota, 6:10 p.m.

Kansas City at Houston, 6:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at St. Louis, 6:15 p.m.

San Francisco at Colorado, 6:40 p.m.

Arizona at Los Angeles, 8:10 p.m.