Ordonez homers twice, drives in six as Tigers top Twins with 19-run effort

DETROIT (AP) -- Magglio Ordonez and the Tigers gave a sellout crowd a good excuse to leave early and check out the other two Detroit teams' playoff games.

Ordonez homered twice and drove in six runs to help Detroit rout the Minnesota Twins 19-3 on Saturday night as the Red Wings opened the Stanley Cup finals and the Pistons met Boston in game three of the Eastern Conference finals.

The defending AL batting champion hit a two-run shot to deep left field and drove in two runners with a third-inning double that gave Detroit the lead for good.

He added another two-run shot to left during a six-run fourth that put the Tigers ahead 12-3 and sent plenty of the 41,137 fans to the exits. Detroit has scored 58 runs in the first five games of this homestand since returning from a 1-5 road trip.

"It was one of those nights where everything we hit hard fell in and the everything we didn't hit hard fell in," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "We put a good night together."

Twins right-hander Boof Bonser (2-6) had his shortest outing of the season, lasting just three batters into the fourth. He gave up the Tigers' first nine runs -- a career worst -- and remained winless in five May starts.

"Nothing went right," Bonser said. "Everything that I threw, they hit.

The Twins haven't surrendered as many runs since a July 13, 1996, loss to Cleveland. Detroit's offensive outburst matched the Comerica Park record for runs set April 23 against Texas.

Ordonez's double opened the scoring in a four-run third that also featured RBI singles by Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Guillen.

"Magglio's an outstanding hitter," Leyland said of Ordonez, who is hitting .365 with 28 RBIs in his last 30 games.

Bonser was pulled after the first three men reached base in the fourth, but relievers Brian Bass and Juan Rincon didn't fare any better. Bass gave up seven runs in 1 1/3 innings and Rincon allowed three more in the next 2 2/3.

Detroit scored six runs in the fourth and seven in the fifth.

Gary Sheffield had a two-run single in the fifth and finished with his first three-RBI game of the season. Placido Polanco was 4-for-5 and scored four times. Ordonez also scored four times to match a career high.

"They have a lineup that will kill you if you don't throw strikes," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They sure showed us that tonight."

Detroit's Nate Robertson (2-5) struck out four and allowed all three runs in 6 1/3 innings. The victory was his first since May 1.

"If they keep scoring 19 runs, I'm going to win most of the time," Robertson said with a laugh. "It worked out good tonight. I felt good and was able to go pretty far and keep the bullpen fresh."

Aquilino Lopez finished the game and struck out four while allowing just one hit.

Minnesota's Alexi Casilla tied the game with a two-run homer in the third. Matt Macri, making his major league debut, added an RBI single in the fourth.

Game notes
Ordonez raised his batting average to .330, an 11-point jump. His last six-RBI game was June 9, 2002, at Montreal as a member of the White Sox. ... Macri started at third base and had singles in his first two at-bats. ... Sheffield's three RBIs left him three shy of tying Andre Dawson for 32nd on the all-time list. ... Detroit's players also must've had an interest in the playoff games. The clubhouse was almost empty 15 minutes after the game ended. ... Tigers players and coaches wore red caps during pregame activities to salute the Red Wings. Mike Ilitch owns both teams.