Laird, Cabrera help Tigers win sixth straight

Laird, Cabrera help Tigers win sixth straight, 5-3

DETROIT — Gerald Laird and Miguel Cabrera homered to help the Detroit Tigers win their sixth straight game, beating the Chicago Cubs 5-3 on Wednesday night.

Zach Miner (5-1), the third of seven Detroit pitchers, picked up the win. Fernando Rodney finished for his 15th save in as many tries. The Cubs put the first two batters on, but Rodney retired the next three to end the game.

Rookie Rick Porcello allowed two runs and seven hits. He walked four in five-plus innings.

Rich Harden (4-4) took the loss, giving up four runs and four hits in 5 1-3 innings.

Derrick Lee extended his hitting streak to a career-high 21 games with a seventh-inning single. It’s the longest hitting streak by a Cub since Jerome Walton’s 30-gamer in 1989.

Detroit took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on Cabrera’s 15th homer, but Geovany Soto tied the game with a solo shot in the fifth. The Cubs then loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, but Porcello stuck out Micah Hoffpauir to end the inning.

Laird put the Tigers back in front with a fifth-inning homer off Harden.

Porcello came out after a walk and a single to start the sixth, and Nate Robertson allowed a single to Kosuke Fukudome to load the bases. Miner struck out Soto before Mike Fontenot tied the game 2-2 on a fielder’s choice.

Harden walked a pair of batters in the Detroit sixth, and Lou Piniella brought in Aaron Heilman with one out. Slumping Magglio Ordonez hit a bloop single to right, loading the bases. One out later, Adam Everett beat out an infield single to give the Tigers the lead and Curtis Granderson walked to make it 4-2.

The Cubs loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, and Fox’s sacrifice fly pulled the Cubs within 4-3.

Carlos Marmol walked in a run in the eighth for the final margin.

NOTES: Placido Polanco had an odd at-bat in the third, bunting a ball off the visor of his batting helmet, then losing his grip on the bat, which sailed into the Tigers dugout. … Ordonez cut off his trademark long hair before the game, hoping to end a season-long slump that has seen him hit just two homers. He finished with two singles. … Joel Zumaya, who allowed an eighth-inning homer to Hoffpauir in Tuesday’s win, pumped his fist after striking out Fox to end Wednesday’s eighth.