Kenley gives up HR in 10th; Dodgers lose to Tigers

Detroit Tigers' Victor Martinez, left, tosses his bat as he hits a solo home run as Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen, right, looks on during the 10th inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) newsandtalking.blogspot.comLos Angeles Dodgers' Matt Kemp, left, gestures toward Dee Gordon at first as Detroit Tigers catcher Victor Martinez looks on during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Los Angeles. Kemp scored on a single by Gordon. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)newsandtalking.blogspot.comDetroit Tigers' Victor Martinez, left, hits a solo home run as Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen, below, pitches and catcher Drew Butera catches during the 10th inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)newsandtalking.blogspot.comLos Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Josh Beckett throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)newsandtalking.blogspot.comDetroit Tigers' Ian Kinsler, right, steals second under the tag of Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon during the first inning of a baseball game on Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)newsandtalking.blogspot.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) - On a night when both staffs combined to make 382 pitches and both closers struggled, Kenley Jansen was the one who took the loss and Joe Nathan came out of it with a victory.

Josh Beckett's long-awaited return became more of a footnote.

Nathan blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night against the Dodgers.

But teammate Victor Martinez picked him up in a big way with a leadoff home run in the 10th against Kenley Jansen, and Detroit pulled out a 7-6 victory.

Beckett threw 85 pitches through four innings, giving up five runs - four earned - and five hits while striking out five.

'It was just rust,' Beckett said. 'After the first inning it was just a baseball game. I felt good in that fourth inning.'

The three-time All-Star, who joined the Dodgers in a nine-player megadeal with Boston in August 2012, made only 15 starts with them prior to this one because of injuries that had sidelined him since his previous outing on May 13 of last season.

Beckett gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead in the second, laying down a suicide-squeeze bunt in front of the plate with 235-pound Juan Uribe charging down the line. It was Beckett's first RBI since June 14, 2009, when he homered against J.A. Happ in an interleague game at Philadelphia.

But the Tigers pulled ahead 5-3 in the third when Nick Castellanos drove a pitch to center field, and the ball skimmed off the top of the eight-foot fence before landing on the other side. It was his first big league homer.

Martinez drove a 2-2 pitch deep into the pavilion seats in right-center to make an unlikely winner of Nathan (2-0). One night earlier, Martinez tied the score with a two-out single in the ninth against Jansen before the Dodgers pulled out a 3-2 victory in 10.

'Kenley Jansen is filthy, but Victor Martinez is a professional hitter,' Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter said. 'He's at the plate, just trying to figure you out, and I think he figured out how Jansen's ball moves.

'He was able to get inside of it and hit it out of the ballpark and come up with another clutch hit. That's what this team is capable of doing. We have some veteran guys who have good at-bats and can get the job done.'

Joba Chamberlain gave up a single to Hanley Ramirez to open the 10th. But left-hander Ian Krol struck out Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier, and Al Albuquerque retired Matt Kemp on a grounder to get his first major league save.

Nathan, who said during a radio interview earlier in the day that he was experiencing a 'dead arm' - and reiterated those thoughts in the clubhouse before batting practice, was trying to protect a 6-3 lead for Anabel Sanchez.

But Gonzalez led off with a home run to center field, and the Dodgers loaded the bases with walks to Ethier and Kemp and a single by Uribe.

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