ARLINGTON, Texas -- Those Martinez sluggers in the middle of the Detroit Tigers lineup keep coming up big. Henrik Lundqvist Youth Jersey . Most everyone already knew about Victor. Now they are getting familiar with J.D. The unrelated players homered on consecutive pitches by different Texas pitchers in the fifth, after back-to-back doubles in a three-run first, as the AL Central-leading Tigers stretched their winning streak to six games with an 8-6 victory at Texas. "Hes been swinging the bat great, and hes a guy that has a lot of power," cleanup hitter Victor said of J.D. "Hes getting a chance to play more often, and hes been doing a lot of damage." After Victor Martinez led off the fifth with his 20th homer to chase Joe Saunders (0-4), J.D. went deep on the first pitch thrown by reliever Shawn Tolleson. "Thats how he attacked me (Tuesday). He struck me out on three straight fastballs. ... He likes to leave the ball up. Im looking for a fastball there," J.D. Martinez said. "Its never a bad plan, either, looking for a fastball up." It was his ninth homer this season, the sixth during a 14-game hitting streak that is the longest active in the majors. J.D. Martinez is hitting .418 (23 for 55) with eight doubles and 17 RBIs in that span. "Vics been swinging the bat well all year, right-handed, left-handed, you take your pick," manager Brad Ausmus said. "The thing about J.D. is his power. When he gets hot, the ball is going to travel." Victor and J.D. also had consecutive doubles when Detroit went ahead to stay with three runs in the first inning. Texas lost its seventh consecutive game, the longest current losing streak in the majors. "Its definitely hard to comprehend a seven-game losing streak, but it is what it is," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We knew why. Weve got to score some runs, and weve got to pitch better." The Rangers trailed 6-3 when left-hander Saunders left after giving up seven hits and walking five. Anibal Sanchez (5-2) struck out five and allowed four runs in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander is 5-0 in his eight starts since coming off the disabled list May 18 after missing three weeks with a cut on his right middle finger. Joe Nathan, the Texas closer the last two seasons before leaving in free agency, gave up a run in the ninth before clinching his 16th save in 21 chances. Carlos Pena homered and scored twice in his second game back with the Rangers, the team he made his major league debut for in 2001 before being traded the following winter. Detroits first five hits were for extra bases before Torii Hunters RBI single in the third made it 5-0. Rajai Davis led off the game with a triple into the right-centre gap. Ian Kinsler then walked on four pitches and Miguel Cabrera had a sacrifice fly before the consecutive Martinez doubles. Kinsler and Cabrera had consecutive doubles to start the third. Texas scored three times in the fourth, which started when Shin-Soo Choo singled before Adrian Beltres RBI double. Pena singled and came home on a single by Robinson Chirinos. Texas rookie second baseman Rougned Odor struck out for the third time in the eighth, but made it to the third base after a wild pitch and a throwing error by catcher Bryan Holaday. Odor was initially called out sliding into third base by umpire Tim Welke even as the ball rolled free, but the umpiring crew conferred and changed the call to safe without a replay. NOTES: The Rangers are a season-high 12 1-2 games behind Oakland in the AL West, their largest deficit since the end of the 2008 season. ... The Rangers are 16-21 at home, where they have lost six of their last seven. ... When Pena homered in the sixth, the ball landed in a pan of brisket set up in a seating area in the right-field corner. Mark Messier Jersey . pic.twitter.com/jPRNJqXglc — #rexualassault (@rexchurko) May 28, 2014 @BarDown Iceotopes wearing chicken suits complete with sewn on numbers and our goalie is the egg! pic. Derek Stepan Jersey .Y. -- Ralph Wilson fulfilled his vow in keeping the Bills in Buffalo during his lifetime.We are just four days into the tournament, but there has been no shortage of talking points at Brazil 2014 both on and off the pitch. The goals have been flowing with 37 scored through the first 11 matches, making it the highest scoring World Cup since 1958. Here are the top five things that caught my attention in the tournament so far. 1. Pain for Spain There really was no bigger story for me during the opening days of the tournament than the remarkable fall of the defending Champions Spain at the hands of the Netherlands. It wasnt just the size of the win by the Dutch in a repeat of the 2010 World Cup Final, it was the manner of the victory that shook the soccer world. Four goals is the biggest margin of defeat for a defending Champion in World Cup history. From Robin Van Persies stunning diving header, to Arjen Robbens exceptional two-goal performance it was an incredible, clinical display from the Netherlands, and they could have finished with more goals. All of this came after Spain had taken the lead, and almost went 2-0 up just before RVPs equalizer. However, as impressive as the Dutch were, much of the surprise was about how Spain crumbled. In the second half, the defending World and European Champions looked anything but. The performance of the normally reliable Iker Casillas was just one black mark on a bad afternoon at the office for the Spaniards, and a late miss from close range by Fernando Torres summed up a bleak afternoon. Spain lost their first match in 2010 and went on to win the World Cup. It will be fascinating to see how they respond this time around. 2. Magical Messi There was much talk heading into the tournament about Lionel Messis status as one of the true soccer greats. Can he be on a pedestal alongside the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona if he doesnt win a World Cup? Messi showed on Sunday night what we have seen many times before for Barcelona. Whatever the game, whoever is around him, he has the ability to single-handedly influence the outcome. Argentina were not at their best against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and neither was Messi, but with his team holding a slender one goal advantage against the World Cup newcomers, Messi scored a fantastic goal, leaving defenders trailing in his wake. It was a piece of individual brilliance that provided a spark needed by his team. Whether Messi wins the tournament or not is irrelevant to me - he has already shown plenty for both club and country to be classed as one of the Worlds elite players of all time. 3. Young Lions I didnt expect much from England heading into the tournament, but I was pleasantly surprised by their performance in the 2-1 defeat to Italy on Saturday night. With young attacking flair, they looked dangerous going forward, and despite losing the match showed there is much to look forward to in the future. Mats Zuccarello Jersey. Raheem Sterling certainly repaid the faith shown by England boss Roy Hodgson with the Liverpool teenager putting in an excellent performance. One of the big debates afterwards was the performance of Wayne Rooney. He missed an excellent chance with England down 2-1 but struggled to influence the game from an unfamiliar position wide on the left. If England are to be successful, they need to get the best out of Rooney, and Im not sure that position will enable that to happen. With Costa Ricas surprise victory over Uruguay, it leaves the group wide open. Italy will be favourites to advance in first place. England will need to tighten up defensively but if they can produce similar attack-minded performances in their next two matches, I think they have a good chance to advance. 4. Croatia Robbed After all the build up to the World Cup, when the action finally began, it was a massive letdown that the post-game talking point was about refereeing and a controversial penalty. Neymar and Oscar produced star performances as the host nation got off to a winning start, but the game really turned Brazils way when Dejan Lovren was judged to have fouled Fred in the box. It should never have been a penalty. The contact was minimal, and Fred flopped like an Olympic diver, but Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura pointed to the spot and the penalty gave Brazil the lead they needed to settle some nerves. It was a very poor decision, but fortunately in the days that followed, the action has been so good that the officials have not been the centre if attention. However, Croatian fans will find it difficult to forgive and forget as they were in the game until the referee changed the course of the match. 5. Ouch! Poor old Gary Lewin. Immediately after Daniel Sturridge scored Englands levelling goal in the first half against Italy on Saturday night, cameras zoomed in on the touch line near the England bench. A crowd of people, including medics, were huddled around someone who was lying flat out on the floor. At first there was confusion. Who was it? What had gone wrong? Turns out the man down injured was actually the England physio! Gary Lewin had hurt himself while celebrating Englands goal. He jumped up, landed on a water bottle and dislocated his ankle. It was an embarrassing situation at the time, but it will leave Lewin with a good story in years to come of how he injured himself during a World Cup match and had to be stretchered off! Roy Hodgson confirmed the injury after the match and also that Lewins World Cup is over. A disappointing end for the physio, but at least he will have expert help on hand throughout his recovery. wholesale jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
