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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rick Porcello went to his normal spot on the Detroit Tigers bench after the eighth inning. He had every intention to finish what he started. With a few pitches to spare, Porcello got his first career shutout, a 6-0 three-hitter over the sinking Texas Rangers on Thursday night for Detroits seventh consecutive victory. "This is extremely special to me," Porcello said. Porcello (10-4) threw 105 pitches through eight innings. With relievers moving around in the bullpen, manager Brad Ausmus and pitching coach Jeff Jones discussed what to do with the right-hander, who did his best to avoid eye contact and then needed only 10 pitches in the ninth to get three groundball outs. "You just worry about the pitch count. We dont want him going much above 115, maybe top out at 120," Ausmus said. "A 15-pitch inning is a good inning, so its kind of a tall task to ask him to get through the inning, but he was able to do it." Porcello limited the Rangers to three singles and benefited from three 4-6-3 double plays (second baseman Ian Kinsler to shortstop Eugenio Sanchez to first baseman Miguel Cabrera), including one after Texas had consecutive hits in the sixth. "The ability to get two outs with one pitch is huge. I was able to execute those sinkers," Porcello said. "Without those guys, I dont know that I would have been able to go nine." The right-hander struck out six and walked three, throwing 72 of his season-high 115 pitches for strikes. It was only the second complete game for Porcello in 164 major league starts -- all for the Tigers since 2009, and he has won at least 10 games in each of his six seasons. Miguel Cabrera had four hits and Austin Jackson hit a two-run single for the AL Central leaders, who completed a three-game sweep. While the Tigers have the longest winning streak in the majors, Texas has the longest losing streak at eight in a row. The Rangers, who last lost eight in a row in August 2005, are 1-6-1 their last eight series overall and 16-22 at home. "We know were a way better team than the way were playing right now," said shortstop Elvis Andrus, who grounded into that double play in the sixth. "Hes got a pretty good sinker. We all knew that. He made the right pitch at the right moment." Rangers rookie Nick Martinez (1-5) allowed six hits and walked five of the 18 batters he faced in 2 1-3 innings. Detroit went ahead to stay in the second when Torii Hunter drew a bases-loaded walk before Cabreras deep inning-ending flyout with the bases loaded. Victor Martinez drew a walk to start the third before a double by Nick Castellanos set up Jacksons two-run single. After two more walks, Nick Martinez was pulled and Kinsler greeted reliever Scott Baker with an RBI single that made it 4-0. Kinsler, the three-time All-Star for the Rangers who was traded to Detroit for Prince Fielder last off-season, homered in his first at-bat Tuesday in his return to Texas as an opponent. Kinsler went 6 for 14 in the series with four runs and four RBIs. With two hits in all three games, Kinsler extended his streak of multihit games to five and is hitting .302 on the season. He has 31 multihit games, one behind Houstons Jose Altuve for the most in the majors. J.D. Martinez had a sacrifice fly for the Tigers, but went 0 for 4 to snap his 14-game hitting streak that was the longest active run in the majors. Cabrera had three singles before his AL-high 28th double in the eighth drove home Kinsler. "Were playing good baseball as a team, and were confident as a group right now," Kinsler said. "Its just a lot of fun playing ball that way." NOTES: It was the fourth shutout for the Tigers this season. Texas was held scoreless for the fourth time. ... Rangers LHP Derek Holland, on the DL since off-season left knee surgery, took fielding practice off the mound. He is scheduled to throw a simulated game Saturday in Arlington. Holland said he feels great, "like I can do everything." ... Texas GM Jon Daniels said his team cant focus on all the injuries -- a major league-high 14 players on the disabled list. He said a big thing right now is player development at the big league level with the youngsters having to play. Cheap Air Max 2017 . The Big Man finished 3-1 in Week 19, and sits at 53-24 on the season. Now Schultz is ready for more action. Wholesale Air Max Shoes . -- Andy Granatelli, the former CEO of STP motor oil company who made a mark on motorsports as a car owner, innovator and entrepreneur, has died. http://www.airmaxoutletsale.us/.J. -- Kyle Palmieri thrilled his personal rooting section with an overtime winner that sent the Anaheim Ducks to their seventh straight win. Air Max Outlet Online . Grilli hasnt pitched since straining his left oblique in late April. Manager Clint Hurdle says the right-hander will make a couple of appearances in middle relief before the team determines whether to return Grilli to the back end of the bullpen. Cheap Air Max Outlet . Stiverne stopped Chris Arreola in the sixth round Saturday night, claiming the WBC heavyweight title belt vacated by Vitali Klitschko.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma wants his high-powered team to get used to playing tight-checking playoff hockey before the post-season begins next month. St. Louis doesnt need the lure of the playoffs as an excuse to get stingy. The space-eating Blues have been doing it all year, and it showed in a taut 1-0 road win on Sunday. Frustrating the NHLs best power play during a pivotal two-man disadvantage at the start of the second period, the Blues continued their mastery of the Eastern Conference by beating the Penguins the way theyve beaten so many teams this season. The room to manoeuvr that Pittsburgh stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin usually enjoy disappeared as St. Louis clogged passing lanes and dictated play defensively. David Backes deflected a slap shot by Alexander Steen past Marc-Andre Fleury midway through the third period for the games only goal and Brian Elliott stopped 33 shots to pick up his fourth shutout of the season as the Blues moved three points clear of Chicago in the race for the best record in the Western Conference. "When youre in a tight game like that against a good team, the guys kind of rose up to the challenge and I tried to make a couple saves and get the rebounds out of the zone and they did the rest," Elliott said. Fleury made 26 saves for the Penguins but watched Backes deflection carom off his glove and into the net just after a penalty against Malkin expired. "I just saw the guy raise his stick for the shot," Fleury said. "There were a bunch of people in front. I tried to cover some net but I didnt see it go in. St. Louis bounced back from a one-sided loss at Philadelphia on Saturday to improve the leagues best road record to 23-11-3. Pittsburghs top-ranked power play went 0-for-5 a day after scoring three times in a win over Tampa Bay. When Elliott wasnt getting a pad on the puck, his teammates were. The Blues blocked 25 shots, with the Penguins frustration growing at every turn as the Blues improved to 20-5-2 against the Eastern Conference, the best interconference record in the league. Pittsburgh had a 5-on-3 power play at the beginning of the second period for more than 90 seconds without bbeing able to sneak something by Elliott.ddddddddddddMost of the time the Penguins struggled generating a shot as the Blues effectively disrupted Pittsburghs rhythm. "We just kind of cleared lanes and I was able to see the ones they took," Elliott said. "Whenever guys are moving big guys out of the way, it just helps and you saw guys get in front of shots, block them and clear them down." Malkin was called for high-sticking 9:17 into the third and he was barely out of the box and back on the ice when Backes gave St. Louis the lead. The puck cycled to the point and Alexander Steen fired a slap shot that Backes found a way to nick as it sailed by. His 24th goal of the year proved more than enough. Elliott wobbled several times — including at least two saves where it appeared the puck was creeping to the goal line when the whistle blew — but didnt collapse. When the clock expired after one last clear up the zone, the game ended with the unusual sight of Malkin trying to mix it up with Alex Pietrangelo. Bylsma said coming into an important weekend he wanted his team to get used to playing tightly contested, low-scoring games. Pittsburgh survived one on Saturday, rallying for a 4-3 overtime win against the streaking Lightning that featured 40 minutes of clamp-down hockey and 22 minutes of frantic play. The Blues, who have positioned themselves into contenders in the West by sealing off the net, would not be lulled into the kind of end-to-end stretches that allow the Penguins to run free. "We still want to do a better job in these games and win them," Crosby said. "We have done a pretty good job of being patient when weve been in these kinds of games." At times, Bylsma wonders if his club was too patient, particularly in the first period. "The first 20 minutes we backed them off with speed," he said. "We had some opportunities and needed to have more of a drive and shoot mentality." NOTES: The Penguins played with seven defencemen instead of six, a move Bylsma said was needed in a game where he knew open ice would be at a premium. ... St. Louis plays in Toronto on Tuesday while the Penguins host Phoenix on Tuesday. ' ' '