by what he saw. "He swam a fantastic race," Lochte said. "That was

DETROIT - Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Max Scherzer will all happily give Jim Leyland credit for improving their careers. Fake Vans Store . 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. Fake Vans Online .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. Fake Vans Old Skool .J. Hardy to avoid a three-game sweep after blowing a big early lead. Odour had a leadoff single in the seventh and scored the tiebreaking run with the help of two errors by Hardy as the Rangers went on to beat the Orioles 8-6 on Thursday night. http://www.fakevans.com/fake-vans-sk8/ . Murakami gracefully executed a double triple toe jump and a triple flip jump that put her at the top of a tightly contested race with 64.73 points, just ahead of Li Zijun of China on 62.ATHENS, Ga. -- Michael Phelps surged to the wall and quickly searched for the scoreboard. He liked what he saw. Phelps turned in perhaps the most impressive performance so far in his comeback, posting the third-fastest time in the world this year while easily beating rival Ryan Lochte in the 100-meter butterfly at the Bulldog Grand Slam on Friday night. Despite some problems with his turn, Phelps had the packed house roaring when he touched in 51.67 seconds, considerably faster than the 52.11 he posted at the Santa Clara Grand Prix three weeks ago. Lochte was a distant second in 53.08. "I wanted to get under 52," Phelps said, breaking into a big smile. "I was sick and tired of seeing 52.1." He had no trouble finishing ahead of Lochte, though it really wasnt a fair fight. Phelps longtime foe also competed in the 200 freestyle, winning the "B" final less than an hour before he returned to the water to face a rested Phelps. More important for Lochte -- his left knee seemed to hold up well. This is his first meet for the laid-back Floridian since he reinjured the surgically repaired knee at the Mesa Grand Prix in April. It was initially hurt late last year when he tried to catch an exuberant fan and fell into a curb, requiring surgery. "I hope I lose," said Lochte, who plans to swim a grueling six events in Athens. "It will just make me more hungry." Phelps is set to swim three events at the weekend meet on the University of Georgia campus, a hastily arranged event that gave some of the top swimmers on the East Coast a chance to swim one more time competitively before the next months national championships in Irvine, California. The results from nationals, as well as the Pan Pacific Championships being held in Australia later in August, will determine the U.S. team for the 2015 world championships. Phelps seems to be right on course, at least in his signature fly, finishing just 0.46 off the time that won the gold at the 2012 London Olympics. The only faster times this year were Thomas Dals 51.44 in the Belgian Open and Viacheslav Prudnikovs 51.60 at the Russian national championships. "I am very pleased with being able to go 51," Phelps said. "But in the grand scheme of things, I think its just a small steppingstone to go where we hope to be." He is still struggling witth the consistency of his stroke. Fake Vans Shoes. When things are going well, Phelps needs 16 strokes to cover the first 50 metres, 18 for the return lap. When hes just a little off, he winds up gliding into the wall too much, either when hes making his flip turn or coming to the finish. "I was kind of bummed that I still cant hit a wall correctly," Phelps said. Added his coach, Bob Bowman, "He looked crazy coming off the wall." All in all, though, no complaints. Phelps, who retired after the last Olympics and stayed away from the pool for more than a year, didnt come back to tarnish his legacy, which includes 18 golds and 22 medals overall -- far more than any other Olympic athlete. "I always set high expectations for myself, no matter what Im doing," he said. "Bob and I have a plan of what I want to do. He knows what its going to take to get there." In other events, French Olympic star Yannick Agnel took the mens 200 freestyle in 1 minute, 47.27 seconds, followed by U.S. Olympians Conor Dywer (1:47.44) and Connor Jaeger (1:47.94). Lochte, swimming in that consolation final, actually posted the fourth-fastest time of the evening at 1:48.69, some 4 seconds faster than he went in the morning preliminaries while wearing a non-racing suit. Allison Schmitt, coming back strong after a disappointing post-Olympic year, won the womens 200 freestyle in 1:58.16. Winner of five medals in London, she struggled a bit with fame and didnt even qualify for the 2013 worlds. Shes back on track with the Rio Games just two years away. "I have more goals that I want to accomplish, which is why Im back," Schmitt said. "Im looking forward to this summer." In the 400 individual medley, Olympic gold medallist Tyler Clary blew away the field in the mens race. His time of 4:21.66 was nearly 4 1/2 seconds ahead of runner-up Kevin Litherland. Melanie Margalis finished first on the womens side. Micah Lawrence touched first in the womens 100 breaststroke, while the mens breaststroke was captured by Nicolas Fink. Seventeen-year-old Kathleen Baker took the womens 100 fly in 59.69, the only swimmer to break the minute barrier. Of course, Phelps drew most of the attention. His main foe was impressed by what he saw. "He swam a fantastic race," Lochte said. "That was really fast." ' ' '