Tigers score 9 in 5th, top Mariners in blowout

James McCann, Justin Upton and Alex Avila homered for Detroit — and that was before the Tigers added nine runs in the fifth inning en route to a 19-9 rout of the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

Felix Hernandez (2-2) allowed four runs in two innings in his shortest outing since 2015, and Seattle’s next two pitchers fared even worse. Detroit finished with 24 hits, 19 of which came in the first five innings. That was despite injuries that kept Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez and Jose Iglesias out of the lineup.

Jordan Zimmermann (2-1) allowed five runs in six innings. Jean Segura, Danny Valencia and Nelson Cruz hit solo homers for Seattle, but that wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with Detroit’s offensive onslaught.

Mikie Mahtook added another home run for the Tigers in the eighth. Ian Kinsler had four hits and four runs before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh.

Detroit’s record for runs in a game is 21, last achieved on July 1, 1936.

The teams combined for 40 hits, breaking the Comerica Park record of 38 set by the Tigers and Chicago White Sox on April 13, 2006.

Kyle Hendricks rediscovered his 2016 form, limiting the Pittsburgh Pirates to four hits over six innings to outduel Gerrit Cole and lead the Chicago Cubs to a win. Hendricks (2-1) struck out two and walked three in easily his best start this year. The struggling Pirates managed just four singles off Hendricks and didn’t reach third base until he was out of the game. Wade Davis worked a perfect ninth for his fifth save as the Cubs won for the sixth time in seven games. Addison Russell doubled in the second off Cole (1-3) and scored when second baseman Alen Hanson airmailed first base on a Jason Heyward grounder, the Pirates’ major league-high 20th error this season. They’ve also allowed 15 unearned runs, the most in the big leagues.

Substitute starter Austin Pruitt combined with four other Tampa Bay relievers on a two-hitter, and the Rays capitalized on Wade Miley’s wildness in a victory over the Baltimore Orioles. On another damp and chilly night at Camden Yards, Rays starter Erasmo Ramirez was a late scratch due to “uncertain weather conditions,” according to the team. Pruitt, a rookie right-hander making his first major league start, allowed one hit in three innings.