Tigers Beat Athletics 11-6

Sunday, August 12th 2007, 4:16 pm

By: News On 6

DETROIT (AP) _ Magglio Ordonez hit two homers in an eight-run second inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 11-6 Sunday to win consecutive games for only the second time since mid-July.

Ordonez also surpassed 100 RBIs for the second straight season, helping the Tigers move back into first place in the AL Central by a half-game over slumping Cleveland.

The All-Star slugger joined Hall of Famer Al Kaline as the only Tigers to homer twice in one inning. Kaline did it in 1955 against the Kansas City Athletics. Now a special assistant to Detroit president Dave Dombrowski, Kaline watched Ordonez match his accomplishment from a suite behind home plate.

Detroit's Placido Polanco also had a big day, tying a major league record by playing his 143rd consecutive game without an error at second base. Luis Castillo set the mark for second basemen from May 30, 2006, to June 5, 2007, with Minnesota.

Ordonez also connected against the A's on Saturday night, perhaps sparking his slumping team. Since the Tigers had four victories in a row from July 15-19, they had won two straight only once (Aug. 6-7) while losing 16 of 22 before beating Oakland 5-2 Saturday night.

Oakland has lost 21 of 33 to plummet in the AL West standings, a year after losing to Detroit in the AL championship series. The banged-up A's have seven players on the disabled list and lost center fielder Nick Swisher in the third inning with a sore hamstring.

Oakland's Marco Scutaro hit a two-run homer in the second. Scutaro hit an RBI double and scored on Dan Johnson's double in the fourth.

Detroit added to its cushion with one run each in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to take an 11-5 lead.

Nate Robertson (7-9) gave up five runs and four hits in 5 2-3 innings, giving Detroit consecutive wins by a starter for the first time since its four-game winning streak last month. Robertson was replaced after giving up his season-high fifth walk. He also struck out six.

Dallas Braden (1-7) lasted just 1 2-3 innings, allowing eight runs and seven hits. He hasn't won since April 24 _ his first major league start _ and is the first Oakland pitcher to lose more than six straight in one season since Mike Mohler in 1997.

Braden's poor outing started and ended against Ordonez.

The slugger led off the second by sending a low pitch to the opposite field, over the right-field wall. His second homer, with two on, went to left and chased Braden, giving Detroit an 8-2 lead.

San Francisco's Bengie Molina was the only other player to hit two homers in an inning this season, on May 7 against the New York Mets, and only Tampa Bay's Julio Lugo did it last year, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The last player to hit two home runs against the same pitcher in one inning was Montreal's Juan Rivera against Arnie Munoz of the Chicago White Sox on June 19, 2004, according to Elias.

Ordonez went over the 100-RBI mark for the second straight season, becoming the first Tiger to do that since Dean Palmer in 1999 and 2000.

Notes: Polanco has not made an error since July 1, 2006. The major league record for consecutive errorless games by any infielder is 193, set by former Dodgers and Padres 1B Steve Garvey. ... Oakland's Mark Ellis played his 77th straight game without an error, extending a franchise record for a 2B. ... Polanco led off for the first time this season, a day after he was a late scratch because of a sore thumb. ``It's still hurting, but it's playable,'' Polanco said. ``I hurt it sliding into third.''