DETROIT -- On a day of dandy Detroit debuts, Alex Gonzalez helped Brad Ausmus start his tenure as Tigers manager with a win. Gonzalez lined an RBI single off Greg Holland in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday in Ausmus first game since replacing Jim Leyland. Victor Martinez homered for Detroit, and Justin Verlander was sharp aside from a three-run fourth inning that wasnt all his fault. "Theres two things that could have spoiled opening day for me," Ausmus said. "One, if we lost. And two, if the sun wasnt out. Because for me opening day, the sun is out, fans are having fun, theyre eating their popcorn, drinking their beer. The energy is higher." Kansas City lost its sixth straight opener. Ausmus was upstaged a bit by another newcomer on a bright, pleasant day in downtown Detroit. Gonzalez was acquired by the Tigers in late March following an injury to shortstop Jose Iglesias. Detroit is just hoping he can fill in competently, and Gonzalez did not impress at first. His error in the fourth helped the Royals score an extra run, but he made up for that with a tying triple in the seventh. Gonzalez then singled with men on first and third in the ninth. "Ive played on a lot of opening days -- I dont even remember all of them -- but this one was special," Gonzalez said. "I was looking for a pitch that I could elevate, and I got one. I rounded first and all I saw was the whole team coming at me." Joe Nathan -- another new face on Detroits roster -- pitched a scoreless ninth. Nathan (1-0) signed with the Tigers to become their closer, but hell have to wait a bit longer for a save opportunity. Holland didnt have a save chance either after converting 47 of 50 last year. Instead, the right-hander came into a difficult situation in the ninth and couldnt get out of it. Wade Davis (0-1) yielded a one-out walk to Alex Avila and a single to Nick Castellanos before Holland allowed the single to Gonzalez. "I get paid to get people out, and I didnt do it today," Holland said. "Were not here to fight and compete. Were here to win." Detroits Tyler Collins made his major league debut as a pinch runner for Avila -- and ended up scoring the winning run. Salvador Perez had four hits for Kansas City. Although there were still a few patches of snow in the Detroit area Monday morning, the game was played under a sunny sky with temperatures in the 50s. With its recently re-sodded field, Comerica Park looked sharp. But the Tigers, coming off three straight AL Central titles, were sloppy at first. Right fielder Torii Hunter dropped a routine flyball in the second, and although Verlander pitched out of that jam, he couldnt escape the fourth. Salvador Perez tied it at 1 with a one-out RBI double off Verlander, and Lorenzo Cain slapped an RBI single through the hole into left field to put Kansas City ahead. After a two-out walk, Gonzalez bobbled Norichika Aokis slow grounder for an error that loaded the bases. Verlander then walked Omar Infante, forcing in Kansas Citys third run of the inning. Verlander had surgery in January after injuring his groin, but he pitched 20 scoreless innings during spring training. He allowed three runs -- two earned -- and six hits in six innings Monday, walking three and striking out two. That was enough for a no-decision. Verlander was making his seventh straight start on opening day, and hes only 1-1 in those games. "I never seem to find a win on opening day, but the bullpen shut them down and we got one anyway. Thats all that matters," Verlander said. "Every opening day is special, but this one meant a little more, because I had to really work and grind to get here for this one after the surgery." With Kansas City ahead 3-1 in the seventh, Austin Jackson hit a one-out triple and Avila drew a walk. Aaron Crow replaced starter James Shields and struck out Castellanos, but the third strike was a wild pitch that allowed Jackson to score. Gonzalez followed with a triple to the gap in left-centre. Shields gave up three runs and five hits in 6 1-3 innings. NOTES: Infante received a hand from the Detroit crowd when he was introduced with the Kansas City players before the game. He left the Tigers and signed with the Royals in the off-season. ... The crowd of 45,068 was the second-largest in Comerica history. ... It was the fourth four-hit game of Perezs career. ... The Royals were 67-6 last year when leading by 2 or more runs at any point from the seventh inning on, according to STATS. Brandon Morrow Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Greg Maddux Jersey . PAUL, Minn. http://www.cubsteamproshop.com/cubs-jake...ta-jersey/.That is precisely what they got Sunday.The Ravens trailed at halftime and never built a comfortable lead against lowly Jacksonville, yet did just enough to squeeze out a 20-12 win to stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race. Ben Zobrist Jersey . Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job. Mark Grace Jersey . -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal.MINNEAPOLIS -- The book on Target Field so far has been dimensions that favour the pitchers. Perhaps the sample size is too small. Kennys Vargas has only played one game there, after all. Vargas hit a three-run homer in his first home game for Minnesota, powering the Twins past Jesse Hahn and the San Diego Padres 3-1 on Tuesday night. "I think Im going to be good here," Vargas said. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound first baseman told manager Ron Gardenhire before the game he believes the ball carries well here, and it sure did when Hahn threw Vargas a 1-1 curveball with two outs in the sixth inning. That was the first home run allowed by Hahn in 55 2-3 innings, since he made his debut for the Padres on June 3. "Just a bad pitch. I wish I had it back," said Hahn (7-3) who went 5 2-3 innings with four walks, an outlier in an otherwise-stellar stretch since joining the rotation two months ago. The crowd of 34,495 roared for Vargas, who looks and swings like former Twins slugger David Oritz. He was recalled from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday. "I appreciate that. I play for the fans," the perpetually smiling Puerto Rican said. Vargas was so excited to swing, he took his bat to the outfield, instead of his glove, for shagging duty during early batting practice in the afternoon. Gardenhire was too amused by the rookies enthusiasm he could hardly scold him. "But that does tell you about what he likes to do," Gardenhire said. Phil Hughes had a season-high nine strikeouts in six innings to snap a three-start losing streak, and Glen Perkins earned his 28th save. The Padres, who came off a three-game sweep of Atlanta and had a National League-leading 78 runs entering the night since the All-Star break, left 11 men on base. Yonder Alonso, who has spent much of the summer on the disabled list, hit his first homer since June 7 but his drive to the upper deck in right field in the fifth inning was all the Padres put together against Hughes (11-8). "It happens. Weve just got to keep getting those guys on base," Alonso said. Hughes was removed after six innings and 99 pitches because of a cracked nail on his right index finger, a common side effect of his sharp curveball.dddddddddddd "Take it easy on the bullpen days and use some super glue or whatever I have to do," Hughes said. "Usually its painful at the time, but it tends to grow out enough where its fine by my next start." SCHAFER SLIDES IN Jordan Schafer singled in his debut for the Twins on the first American League pitch he faced and stole second base before being thrown out when he overeagerly broke for third on Danny Santanas grounder to shortstop. Schafer, claimed off waivers from Atlanta, was in left field but will see plenty of time in centre, so the Twins can use Santana again at his natural shortstop position. The Twins have used six centre fielders this season, with former first-round draft pick Aaron Hicks, who was moved back up to Triple-A on Tuesday, unable to hold the job. TRAINERS ROOM Padres right-hander Andrew Cashner, on the disabled list with soreness in his right shoulder, will start a rehab assignment on Friday with Class A Lake Elsinore. Cashner has been limited by injuries to 12 starts this year. The Twins had their two highest-paid players, Joe Mauer and Ricky Nolasco who will make a combined $35 million this season, at Class A Cedar Rapids on Tuesday for rehab work. Mauer, out for more than a month with a strained muscle in his right side, went 1 for 3 as the designated hitter. Nolasco, coming back from a sore right elbow, threw 3 2-3 scoreless innings and will start again on Sunday. Mauer will likely rejoin the Twins at Houston next week. UP NEXT The Padres will give Odrisamer Despaigne (2-3, 2.68 ERA) his eighth career start in the finale of this two-game, 20-or-so-hour series. They are off on Thursday for the second time in four days, and Ian Kennedy will pitch the opener in Pittsburgh on Friday, followed by Eric Stults and Tyson Ross. The Twins will send Kevin Correia, who beat the Padres in San Diego in May, to the mound against his former team. They have yet to announce their starter for Saturday in Oakland, but recent acquisition Tommy Milone, who started on Tuesday for Triple-A Rochester, is a strong candidate for the spot. Wholesale NFL T-shirts Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping NFL Jerseys Wholesale China NFL Gear Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Cheap NFL Hoodies Camo China NFL Jerseys ' ' '