NEW YORK (AP) — jor league career — and showing he still has some life in his bat.One loyal Detroit Tigers fan in particular saw that all firsthand Thursday night.Martinez tied the game with a milestone two-run homer in the ninth inning and Niko Goodrum followed with a homer off Dellin Betances to rally the Tigers past the New York Yankees 8-7.The homer was the second of the game for Martinez and gave him 533 RBIs with the Tigers http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , the most in franchise history for a switch-hitter. Martinez’s first homer, a two-run shot in the fifth, tied him on the list with Billy Rogell.The home runs were the first since July 27 for the 39-year-old Martinez, who said Aug. 15 he expects to retire at the end of the season. He is batting .250 with eight homers and 47 RBIs overall, which are far off the norms he established in making five All-Star teams.“It’s always great when you do something to help the team win, that’s the bottom line,” Martinez said. “This has been one of the worst seasons of my whole career. I’m just grinding — keep my head high, stay positive until the last day.”One of Martinez’s final big nights as a big leaguer turned into an evening Darren Corea won’t forget. Corea, a 42-year-old Tigers fan from Vancouver, British Columbia, caught the second home run ball.“I was sitting three seats from the camera guy and he’s like ‘Hey, bud, they’re going to want that ball,'” said Corea, who is in New York on business. “I said ‘Really? I’ve been waiting 42 years for a ball.’ Then had a Yankees fan run up to me, he goes ‘I’ll give you 20 bucks if you throw it back on that field.'”Corea held on, and in exchange for the ball, Martinez gave him an autographed bat Bernie Williams Jersey , posed for a picture and promised to send a signed road jersey once the Tigers return home.The swap with Corea was just one of a handful of sentimental moments enjoyed Thursday by Martinez. After speaking with reporters, Martinez carefully folded into his backpack a jersey he received from Yankees rookie star and fellow Venezuelan native Gleyber Torres.“He knows he’s winding down here and he’s having a ball and he’s enjoying every moment he can — this is a huge moment for him,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “The guys just love it. We’re all rooting for him like you can’t believe.”Goodrum’s homer off Dellin Betances (4-4) capped a wild game that featured eight homers — including the 300th career round-tripper for Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton — as well as five lead changes and two ties.Betances had allowed a total of two runs in his past 35 appearances dating to late May, and had never given up two homers in a game.Alex Wilson (2-4) earned the win with a perfect eighth and Shane Greene recorded his 28th save.Jeimer Candelario led off the game with a home run against J.A. Happ, and Ronny Rodriguez also homered for the Tigers.Torres and Luke Voit each hit two-run homers, with Voit’s blast giving the Yankees a 7-5 lead in the seventh.Stanton’s two-run drive off Francisco Liriano in the third, which gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead, came in his 1,119th game — only Ralph Kiner, Ryan Howard, Juan Gonzalez and Alex Rodriguez have hit No. 300 faster.“It was awesome, especially for the game situation,” said Stanton, who also received the ball in exchange for some memorabilia. “Three hundred is always going to be a huge staple for my career when I look back and see highlights.”TRADE TALKThe Yankees, who began the day 7 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL East and 4 1/2 games ahead of Oakland for the top wild card spot, are close to completing a trade for San Francisco Giants outfielder Andrew McCutchen.A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday night the Yankees would send infielder Abiatal Avelino and another minor leaguer to San Francisco for McCutchen. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal wasn’t finalized.The New York Post first reported the deal.McCutchen is hitting .255 with 15 home runs, 55 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in his first season with the Giants. He could play right field for the Yankees, who have been without Aaron Judge (broken right wrist) since late July.TRAINER’S ROOMTigers: SS Jose Iglesias (abdomen) was placed on the 10-day disabled list. INF Dawel Lugo C.C. Sabathia Jersey , one of the players the Tigers acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the J.D. Martinez trade last year, was recalled and went 1 for 4 while starting at shortstop in his major league debut.Yankees: C Gary Sanchez (groin) went 0 for 4 while catching all nine innings at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yankees hope Sanchez, who has been out since July 24, can be activated Saturday. … SS Didi Gregorius (heel bruise) rested Thursday after hitting and taking ground balls Wednesday. … OF Aaron Judge (broken right wrist) ran and played catch but has yet to swing a bat.UP NEXTTigers: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (6-6, 4.38 ERA) has received a decision in 10 straight starts. He is 2-3 this month with an 0.73 ERA in his wins and a 6.75 ERA in his losses.Yankees: Major league wins leader RHP Luis Severino (17-6, 3.27 ERA) will look to become the Yankees’ first 18-game winner since 2011, when LHP CC Sabathia finished with 19 victories. The first-place Cleveland Indians will attempt to avoid being swept in a three-game series by the last-place Kansas City Royals when the two teams meet on Sunday afternoon in Kauffman Stadium.After splitting a tense and competitive four-game series with the Red Sox in Boston on the first leg of a seven-game road trip, the Indians have looked flat in dropping the first two games in Kansas City by a combined score of 12-5, including the Royals beating Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber 7-1 Saturday night.Cleveland has lost four in a row, matching its longest losing streak of the year.Article continues below ...“We’ve got to figure out a way to play better,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “We look a little tired. We’ve got to show up (Sunday) and grind and find a way to win.”The Indians go into Sunday’s series finale with their two most important hitters, both MVP candidates, in slumps. In the first six games of the road trip Francisco Lindor is hitting .154 (4-for-26) with no RBIs, and Jose Ramirez is hitting .143 (3-for-21) with no RBIs.“They’re having a tough time,” Francona said. “We lean on them so much, and we will continue to. But (Royals pitchers) have done a real good job on those guys the last couple of nights.”In their 7-1 loss Saturday night the Indians were out-hit by the Royals 14-5. Cleveland’s only run came on a balk.Sunday’s pitching matchup will be a pair of right-handers, Cleveland’s Shane Bieber vs. Kansas City’s Jorge Lopez.Bieber (7-2, 4.36) is coming off one of his most impressive starts of the season http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , a 6-3 win over Boston on Aug. 21 in which he held the Red Sox’ potent offense scoreless on two hits through the first six innings. Bieber’s final line was 6 1/3 innings, three runs, five hits, with five strikeouts and no walks.Bieber is a rookie, and like many rookies he’s been very streaky. In four August starts he is 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA. In his four starts prior to that he was 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA. In his four starts prior to that he was 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA.Sunday will be Bieber’s second career appearance vs. Kansas City. His only other appearance against the Royals was a start on July 3 in which he got the win in a 6-4 Cleveland victory. He pitched six innings, allowing four runs and nine hits, with two strikeouts and one walk.Lopez (0-3, 3.99) was acquired by Kansas City from Milwaukee as part of a trade in which the Royals sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers. Lopez was used as a reliever in Milwaukee, but the Royals are using him as a starter.In 10 relief appearances with the Brewers Lopez was 0-1 with a 2.75 ERA. In two starts with the Royals he is 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA. Lopez also appeared in a combined 26 games (two starts) at the Triple-A level for the Brewers and Royals and was 4-3 with a 5.26 ERA.Lopez’s last major league start for Kansas City was a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Aug. 20, in which he pitched five innings, allowing one run and five hits, with three strikeouts and three walks.Lopez has one career appearance vs. Cleveland, a relief effort for Milwaukee on May 9. He pitched two innings, giving up two runs and two hits, with one strikeout and no walks.For his career overall at the major league level, Lopez is 1-3 with a 5.95 ERA in four career starts. In 11 career relief appearances he is 0-1 with a 2.91 ERA.
