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DETROIT - Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Max Scherzer will all happily give Jim Leyland credit for improving their careers. Saturday, they got a chance to pay him back. On the day the Tigers honoured their former manager in a pregame ceremony, Cabrera and Martinez both hit three-run homers and Scherzer threw well enough to lead the Tigers over the Minnesota Twins 9-3. "We had a lot of great memories with Jim, so we wanted to give him one more," Cabrera said. "We wanted that for him, because of everything he did for us." Cabrera connected for his fifth homer, tagging Kyle Gibson (3-3), while Martinez hit his eighth of the season and fourth in the last six games. "It was great to see Jim today, because hes still a big part of our family," Martinez said. "You see him today, running around and hugging people, and you forget how old he is, because he doesnt have the attitude of an old man. He still seems young, and we all loved seeing him, because he has done so much for all of us." Scherzer (5-1) wasnt sharp yet still won, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks in six innings. He struck out six — his team-record streak of fanning at least seven in seven starts to begin a season ended. "I couldnt find my release point today, but I was able to get through it," he said. "I gave up one big shot, but the rest of the time, I was able to make enough pitches to get the outs I needed and get out of any jams. "And Leyland must have been proud. He always managed for Miggy and Victor to hit three-run homers for him," he said. After the 69-year-old Leyland threw out the first pitch, another of his favourite players made an immediate impact. Don Kelly, a utilityman who owes his major league career to Leylands patience and trust, reached over the left-field fence in the first inning to steal a homer from Kurt Suzuki. Kelly then scored the games first run as the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the second on RBI singles by Alex Avila and Andrew Romine. Detroit added another run when second baseman Brian Dozier dropped shortstop Danny Santanas flip, then threw wildly to the plate as Avila scored. "Danny should have just thrown to first there, but he got himself into trouble by trying to get the out at second," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You cant make those kind of mistakes against that team." The error had major consequences, as Cabrera followed with his homer for a 6-0 lead. "That was a huge mistake by the Twins, and we all knew it as soon as we saw the error," Scherzer said. "If you let us extend an inning and get Miggy to the plate, hes going to make you pay for it. Thats exactly what he did." The Twins closed the deficit on Doziers long, three-run shot in the third, but werent able to do anything else against Scherzer. Anthony Swarzak relieved Gibson and pitched four shutout innings, but the damage had already been done. "I just got behind too many guys, and then you have to come in over the plate," Gibson said. "You cant do that against a team like Detroit. They are a pretty good team when you have to throw the ball down the middle." Martinez broke open the game with a three-run homer off Michael Tonkin in the seventh. Martinez, who is hitting .328 at the age of 35, is on pace to easily surpass his career high of 25. "I knew Victor was a great hitter before I got here, but he has continued to surprise me all season," said Leylands successor as manager, Brad Ausmus. "I keep saying it — Ive never seen a hitter like him." Tigers reliever Phil Coke got into the game in his latest role as the mop-up man. He allowed a leadoff single, drawing boos from the crowd, but Cabrera helped him out with a 3-6-3 double play that led to a shutout inning. "We need to get Phil going in games like this so that we can work him in to tougher situations," Ausmus said. "Miggy helped him out today, and hopefully, this will get the ball rolling." NOTES: The Tigers honoured Leyland and had him throw out the first pitch to longtime friend and Tigers bench coach Gene Lamont. Leyland, the only manager to lead Detroit to four post-season appearances, was also presented with a framed painting by team president Dave Dombrowski, Justin Verlander and Cabrera. "It was a great run for eight years," Leyland said before the game. "I only wish we could have brought a World Series trophy to this city." ... A fan behind the Twins dugout got an ovation after catching a foul ball with his left hand while cradling his daughter in his right arm. ... Scherzers eight games with at least six strikeouts is the second-longest streak to start a season in franchise history, trailing his own 19-game run last year. Jarome Iginla Jersey . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant. Calgary Flames Jerseys . (January 11, 2014) – Once again Kevin Martin proved why he is the all-time TSN skins leader, winning $11,500 in prize money and a spot in the Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game presented by Pintys final following a semifinal victory over Brad Jacobs earlier this evening at the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alta. http://www.jerseyofficialhockeyflames.co...-hockey-jersey/. Or how his team has defended Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Or just about anything that has happened on the court in the first-round playoff series. Instead, Rivers and his players spent Saturday talking about how they would respond to an audio recording of a man identified as Clippers owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend not to bring black people to games. Custom Calgary Flames Jerseys . "He started putting me on the ice to strengthen them at the suggestion from a doctor," he said. Weight said it wasnt a pretty sight at the rink in St. Clair Shores, Mich. "I looked like Forrest Gump," he joked. Lanny McDonald Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. TOKYO -- Canada is down 2-1 to Japan in its best-of-five World Group Davis Cup series following a doubles match loss on Saturday. Torontos Daniel Nestor and Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., fell to Japans Kei Nishikori and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-3, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4. Both teams made player substitutions prior to the match as Dancevic went in for Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil, who is still recovering from a back injury. Nishikori subbed in for Yuichi Sugita on the Japanese side. The match marked the first time Dancevic and Nestor had played together in three years. "I thought those guys came out really strong and we really didnt take advantage of our chances," said Canadian captain Martin Laurendeau. "The guys fought really hard and it was really a matter of a few points." The Canadian pair got out to an early lead in the second set but Japan broke back to force the tiebreak, and capitalized to take a two-set advantage before Nestor and Dancevic captured the third set.dddddddddddd For Nestor, the loss was only his eighth in Davis Cup doubles play in his entire 22-year career representing Canada. It was also the first loss for Dancevic and Nestor as a pair, who entered the contest undefeated together with a 3-0 record. Canada is currently ranked No. 7 on the Davis Cup Nations ranking while Japan sits at No. 12. Japan owns a 5-0 record against Canada in Davis Cup action, but the two countries had not played each other since 1938 prior to this tournament. Dancevic will play World No. 18 Nishikori in a must-win singles match on Sunday. If a fifth and final match is needed, Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., will face Go Soeda, also on Sunday. The nations split their opening pair of first-round singles matches on Friday, with Nishikori defeating Polansky in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, before Canada pulled even on the strength of Dancevics 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-1 victory over Soeda. 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