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DETROIT -- Max Scherzer could have probably pitched one more inning after breezing through the first eight. Detroits powerful offence made that unnecessary. Scherzer allowed two hits and struck out seven, and the Tigers backed their star right-hander with three early homers in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. With a big lead and Scherzers pitch count in triple digits, manager Brad Ausmus decided to go to the bullpen for the ninth inning, instead of sending his starter back to the mound for three more outs. "I had it in me to be able to do it, and I had an extra day (of rest) coming up this next time," Scherzer said. "But given the context of the game, it wasnt the right decision for me to go back out there. Its an 8-1 game. Ive got my work in." Scherzer retired 23 of the last 24 hitters he faced, and Ian Kinsler, Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter all homered as part of a five-run first inning for the AL Central-leading Tigers, who have won 12 of 14. Tampa Bays five-game winning streak came to an end. Detroit leads second-place Kansas City by five games. Scherzer (10-3) allowed a first-inning sacrifice fly by Evan Longoria, but that was the first of 10 straight hitters retired by the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner. After allowing a single in the fourth, Scherzer retired another 13 in a row before he was pulled with a pitch count of 106. There would be no talking the manager into another inning. Ausmus met Scherzer in the dugout and shook his hand. "He was done. I was just confirming to him that he was done," Ausmus said. "It didnt really matter what he said. That was going to be the end for him. There was no reason to send him back out at that point." Erik Bedard (4-6) allowed six runs and eight hits with two walks in two innings. Miguel Cabrera had two doubles, a single, a walk and four runs for Detroit. The Rays are still at the bottom of the AL East, and the improved starting pitching that fueled their recent run was nowhere to be seen Thursday. After a leadoff single by Austin Jackson in the first, Kinsler homered to put the Tigers ahead. Cabreras walk was followed by Martinezs 21st home run. Hunter added a solo shot with one out to make it 5-1. It was Martinezs first game back after he missed three with soreness in his side. Cabrera doubled in the second and scored on J.D. Martinezs single. He also scored on a single by Hunter in the fourth. Scherzer, coming off a 13-strikeout performance against Houston in his previous start, fanned seven with a walk, and the Detroit defence played well behind him. Nick Castellanos made a diving catch in the third when Desmond Jennings hit a line drive to the third basemans left. Then Detroit shortstop Eugenio Suarez jumped high in the air to snag a liner by Ben Zobrist. The first seven spots of Tampa Bays batting order, listed by position, went CF-SS-LF-3B-1B-DH-RF -- or 8-6-7-5-3-0-9. Rays manager Joe Maddon called it a "Tommy Tutone lineup" before the game, in reference to that bands early-80s hit "867-5309/Jenny." Maddon may have scored points with pop music fans of a certain age, but he couldnt have enjoyed watching his hitters scuffle against Scherzer. James Loneys single in the fourth was the only baserunner the Rays managed after the first inning. "We had some good at-bats," Maddon said. "I thought we played well today, but we just got ourselves in a hole, and that let him be more aggressive." Scherzer has only one complete game in his career -- a shutout of the Chicago White Sox less than a month ago. NOTES: The Tigers sent substitute Don Kelly to the on-deck circle in the fourth instead of Castellanos. Ausmus said Castellanos was in the bathroom, and Detroit wanted someone in the on-deck circle if there was a play at the plate -- to signal to the runner whether to slide. ... Scherzer has reached 10 wins every year since the Tigers traded for him before the 2010 season. ... Detroit LHP Drew Smyly (4-7) faces Tampa Bay RHP Alex Cobb (3-6) on Friday night. Nike Air Max Plus 97 Australia . Messis 75th-minute goal answered some of the criticism the clubs all-time leading scorer had received for his lacklustre performances in the teams recent losses in the league, Champions League and Copa del Rey final. Air Max Tn Australia . The Earthquakes (6-9-7) were coming off a 5-0 loss at home last Saturday to FC Dallas. Even with the draw, the Sounders (13-7-3) climbed back into a tie for both the Western Conference and overall top spot in MLS. Seattle, West co-leader Real Salt Lake and East leader Sporting Kansas City all have 42 points. http://www.vapormaxaustraliashoes.com/air-vapormax-flyknit-2-sneakers.html . The Heat centre scored 10 of his 30 points early in the first quarter to silence the Toronto fans as Miami defeated the Raptors 113-101 on Friday night. Vapormax Shoes Wholesale . Goins is the early favourite to win the starting job at second base. Pillar is an outsider to secure a role off the bench, which becomes an even more difficult spot to win if the number of back up jobs is reduced by one. That happens if the Blue Jays decide to start the season with an eight man bullpen. Cheap Vapormax 97 . Or, for that matter, the aged.TORONTO - Forgive Dwane Casey if hes not jumping up and down as a result of his teams first win of the exhibition season. Although the Raptors coach acknowledges the positives - and there were several of them - to be taken out of Mondays 97-89 preseason victory over the Celtics, there was one thing that was on his mind the following afternoon. "Turnovers," he emphasized after practice on Tuesday. "26 turnovers is way too many. Weve got to make sure we cut those down." Preseason rust is a phenomenon that has been known to affect even the best of teams and Casey understands that. Its also not hugely surprising for a Raptors team that has spent the bulk of training camp working strictly on their defence. Casey accepts this premise, but he wont excuse it. "We[ve] got to get those down," Casey said of the offensive miscues. "Probably in half, is my goal once we get going. A lot of it is rust, we spent a lot more time defensively than we have offensively." Protecting the ball was one of Torontos strengths a year ago when they averaged just 13.7 turnovers per game, third best in the NBA. By halftime on Monday the Raptors had turned the ball over 16 times and each of their starters finished the game with three or more giveaways. "It was the first game," said Terrence Ross, who had just one turnover in a standout 12-point performance. "Its not going to be perfect [but] were working on it." The young Celtics scored 26 points off Torontos 26 turnovers but the Raptors were able to overcome their mistakes thanks in large part to efficient shooting (52 per cent), an inspired performance on the boards and a defensive effort that met their coachs high expectations. "We did a lot of good things defensively," Casey said after preaching a re-commitment on that end of the floor throughout the first week of camp. "Weve got to continue that, build on that [and] cut down on some of the mistakes we made defensively but most of all we made up for the mistakes with effort." Casey will continue to emphasize defence first and foremost but making the most of each possession will undoubtedly be a focus for his team when they host the Timberwolves at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday. "Its something that were going to be more conscious of in the next game," Ross admitted. "I dont think well get 26 turnovers [or] anywhere near that again." Eliminating "cheap" foouls Another focus for Caseys club has been increasing their defensive intensity while also decreasing the unnecessary fouls theyre being called for, a tricky act to balance and one the Raptors have had a tough time with in the past.dddddddddddd Toronto has committed more fouls than any other NBA team in each of the two seasons since Casey took over as head coach. Last year they were whistled for a shade over 22 violations per game, down from 23 the season before. On par with their 2012-13 average the Raptors committed 22 fouls on Monday, six of them called on Jonas Valanciunas who fouled out late in the fourth quarter. One of the (few) pitfalls that comes with employing a group of high-energy big men is the foul trouble thats likely to ensue. That will be the challenge for Valanciunas, Amir Johnson - who led the league in fouls last season - and spark plug Tyler Hansbrough. They are far too valuable to be constrained to the bench for long stretches. "The fouls we dont want to have are the cheap ones," Casey said. "Where youre reaching and grabbing, not in position. Ill take that hard play and try to correct it as we go." For Valanciunas its about playing under control on defence and when fighting for position in the low post. Casey and the coaching staff have been working with the sophomore centre on his balance as well as his vertical shot contest. "When he goes up, what we call verticality," Casey said, "and then he comes down with the hand, he thinks hes going straight up but human nature brings the hand down and he gets a cheap foul." Praise for Hansbrough Hansbrough was a popular man at practice on Tuesday. His reputation precedes him. You love him if hes on youre team, you hate him if hes not, we were told. Turns out he makes friends quick. "Tylers my favourite player on the team," Ross joked, a day after Hansbrough debuted for the Raptors with 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench. "I love playing with him," he continued. "It makes my job a lot easier knowing that hes down there battling. Hes usually taking on two guys so theres more people focused on Tyler. He slows a lot of things down for us so its great having him on the team." Lowry banged up Kyle Lowry banged his hand in practice Tuesday morning, according to Coach Casey. His status is not known but should be updated prior to Wednesdays preseason game. Its not believed to be serious. ' ' '