Rangers rout Tigers 15-5 and advance to the World Series

In an American League Championship Series filled with tense moments and close games, the clincher in Game 6 was the complete opposite.

The Texas Rangers erupted for nine runs in the third inning and blew out the Detroit Tigers 15-5 to advance to the World Series for the second consecutive season.

First baseman Michael Young, hitting just .162 in the playoffs entering the game, had a pair of two-run doubles in the inning as the Rangers sent 14 men to the plate against four Tigers pitchers to get the Texas-sized celebration started early.

"It's an incredible feeling to be here right now," Young said in the middle of the team's on-field celebration. "We know we really have good players, but there's always an X-factor that puts you over the top."

For the Rangers in this series, that weapon was most often in the form of Nelson Cruz, who followed Young's solo home run in the seventh with a two-run shot three batters later to finish off the scoring.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Cruz was named series MVP. His six home runs in a single postseason series -- including a pair of 11th-inning homers in Games 2 and 4 -- broke the record he shared with Reggie Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Gonzalez and Chase Utley. His 13 RBI were also a single-series playoff record.

"This is just getting started," Cruz said. "As we say in the Dominican, the kettle is just starting to heat up, so we're going to stay focused and be ready for the World Series.''

The Tigers were able to quiet the red, white and blue-clad crowd of 51,508 -- for the first two innings.

Solo home runs by Miguel Cabrera in the top of the first and by Jhonny Peralta in the second staked Detroit to an early 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Rangers had Tigers starter Max Scherzer in a bit of trouble in the bottom of both innings, but couldn't get the big hits to cash them in.

Then everything changed in the bottom of the third.

A nice diving stop by Tigers third baseman retired leadoff hitter Ian Kinsler, but then the floodgates opened as nine consecutive Rangers reached base.

Elvis Andrus walked, Josh Hamilton dropped a bloop single down the left field line and Young delivered a game-tying, two-run double into the left field corner.

"A lot of the game is about momentum. When you've got momentum going in a positive direction, it catches fire throughout the lineup," Hamilton said.

"Everybody just fed off each other. We wanted to do it here at home in front of the crowd. We didn't want to give them a chance to come back."

A visit from Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones couldn't stem the Rangers rally. Adrian Beltre delivered the go-ahead single to center to score Young. A walk to Mike Napoli and another walk to Cruz -- with a disputed check-swing call on a 2-2 pitch -- signaled the end of the night for Scherzer.

Rangers designated hitter David Murphy greeted new pitcher Daniel Schlereth with a line drive single back up the middle to put the Rangers up 5-2. Needing a double play, Leyland changed pitchers again, bringing in ground-ball specialist Rick Porcello.

Porcello got the ground ball, but Ramon Santiago's throw to second for the force play was too late to get Murphy, according to umpire Larry Vanover.

Batting for the second time in the inning, Kinsler brought home two more runs with a bases loaded single. After a fielder's choice and an intentional walk, Young hit his second two-run double of the inning -- this one down the right field line -- to cap the nine-run explosion.

"He struggled a little bit this postseason," Kinsler said of Young, "(but) he came up huge for us. We were able to open up the game. It was a big night for him."

All told, it was the highest-scoring inning in league championship history since the Anaheim Angels scored ten runs against the Minnesota Twins in 2001.

There was one similarity with the rest of the games in the series: the Rangers didn't get five innings out of their starting pitcher.

Derek Holland gave up a third home run, a two-run shot by Austin Jackson in the top of the fifth, and lasted only 4 2/3 innings. But as they have the entire series, the Rangers bullpen kept the Tigers from mounting any kind of a rally.

Scott Feldman, Alexi Ogando, Mike Adams and Neftali Feliz combined to hold Detroit to one run and three hits over the final 4 1/3 innings to nail down the victory. In the six-game series, Texas relievers had a combined ERA of 1.32.

"If you look at what happened this year, our starting pitching was one of our big strengths," said team owner Nolan Ryan during the team's on-field celebration. "We just didn't have good outings in the playoffs here. Our bullpen stepped up big time and gave us an opportunity to be where we are."

The Rangers bullpen picked up all four victories in the series, with Ogando winning both the opener and the finale. In ten games so far this postseason, Texas has only gotten one start of six innings or more.

Back in the Fall Classic, the Rangers will now await the winner of the National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals.

"It's not easy to get back here," said manager Ron Washington. "It was a lot going on through the course of a 162-game season, but they committed themselves. They brought the proper attitude every single day and it was never a time where they didn't give the effort that it took to be where we are right now."