DETROIT (Associated Press) ? Nelson Cruz made a rocket throw to keep the score tied, then hit a crushing three-run homer in the 11th inning off Jose Valverde that helped send the Texas Rangers over the Detroit Tigers 7-3 Wednesday night for a 3-1 lead in the AL championship series.
Cruz, whose grand slam in the 11th inning won Game 2, once again starred for the Rangers in a game delayed at the start for more than two hours by rain.
With Detroit runners at the corners in the eighth and the score 3-all, Cruz caught Delmon Young's fly ball to right field and made a strong peg to catcher Mike Napoli to nail Miguel Cabrera.
Napoli blooped a go-ahead single in the 11th and Cruz soon added his fourth home run of the ALCS. Cruz became the first player in major league history to hit a pair of extra-inning homers in the same postseason series.
Texas tries for its second consecutive AL pennant on Thursday, sending C.J. Wilson to the mound to face Detroit ace Justin Verlander.
The ALCS has marked quite a turnaround for Cruz. After going just 1 for 15 in the first-round playoff win over Tampa Bay, he's 5 for 14 with 9 RBIs in only four games against the Tigers ? and seven of those RBIs have come in the 11th inning alone.
Brandon Inge hit a solo home run in the Detroit seventh that tied it. The Tigers wasted a terrific chance an inning later following some risky Texas strategy.
With one out and nobody on, the Rangers intentionally walked Cabrera, practically daring the rest of the struggling Detroit lineup to beat them. The AL batting champion hit a two-run double earlier in the game, in fact.
Victor Martinez, who hurt his ribcage on a home run swing in Game 3, followed with a single to right and Cabrera lumbered around to third.
Young, another Tigers starter who has been banged up lately, managed to lift the ball to medium right. Cruz caught it and made a perfect, one-hop throw to the plate that beat Cabrera by several feet.
Cabrera bowled over Napoli, to no avail. Napoli held onto the ball and Cabrera never touched the plate.
Austin Jackson was hit by a pitch with one out in the Detroit 10th, but Napoli threw him out stealing, and reliever Scott Feldman made it through the inning without further trouble.
Feldman got the win and Texas closer Neftali Feliz worked the 11th.
Cruz tried to contribute with his legs, too. He was on first base with two outs in the ninth and tried to steal second while Tigers reliever Joaquin Benoit was holding the ball. The pitcher stepped and threw to second to retire Cruz.
Valverde had already pitched a perfect 10th, but he couldn't hold off Texas for another inning. Cruz was mobbed by teammates at the Texas dugout after his homer, and Detroit fans began heading for the exits. Some of those that remained began applauding Valverde, who hasn't blown a save all year but was unable to keep this game going.
The teams waited through a rain delay of 2 hours, 13 minutes before the first pitch. The game was supposed to begin at 4:19 p.m. EDT, but the rain didn't let up until around 5:30. Fans then began filling the seats closest to the field and, about 20 minutes later, the grounds crew came out to remove the tarp.
A misty rain began falling again around the end of the second inning, and umbrellas started popping up all over the ballpark. Water would kick up as the ball hopped along the grass, but the rain wasn't a factor in the late innings.
Cabrera hit his two-run double in the third, but Texas scored three times in the sixth.
Inge tied it with a stunning homer off Alexi Ogando in the seventh. The Detroit third baseman hit .170 against right-handers during the regular season with no homers in 171 at-bats, but he lifted a high drive to left field that seemed to stay in the air forever before clearing the fence to make it 3-all.
Rangers relievers allowed only one run in 15 innings through the first three games of the ALCS ? and they allowed only one in Game 4.
Texas Rangers v Detroit Tigers - Game Four
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 12: Mike Napoli #25 hugs Neftali Feliz #30 of the Texas Rangers after the final out of Game Four of the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on October 12, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan. The Rangers defeated the Detroit Tigers 7-3 to take a 3-1 lead in the series. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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Texas Rangers v Detroit Tigers - Game Four
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 12: Mike Napoli #25 hugs Neftali Feliz #30 of the Texas Rangers after the final out of Game Four of the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on October 12, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan. The Rangers defeated the Detroit Tigers 7-3 to take a 3-1 lead in the series. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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