PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Detroit Tigers did everything they could

to give away a game they already had won. The Pittsburgh Pirates

almost figured out how to win a game that seemed lost.

But when it came down to a ground ball that deflected off

pitcher Todd Jones' glove, with the winner determined by which way

it bounced, the Tigers showed why they have the majors' best

record. And the Pirates again displayed why they have the NL's

worst record.

Chris Shelton hit one of Detroit's two tape-measure home runs

against the team that gave him away and the Tigers bounced back

from one of their few ugly losses this season, holding on to beat

the Pirates 9-8 Sunday.

"We were this close," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said, holding

two fingers about an inch apart. "This close."

Shelton, Carlos Guillen and Craig Monroe drove in two runs each

to help the Tigers open a 9-2 lead and take two of three from

Pittsburgh, their seventh consecutive series win. They were coming

off a 9-2 loss Saturday in which they committed errors on three

consecutive infield plays during a seven-run Pirates seventh.

The Pirates lost for the 15th time in 17 games, while the Tigers

won their 14th in 16.

"But, to be honest, I was concerned we might come in here and

not win a game," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "A team like

that, they're going to get their share eventually and I didn't want

it to be this weekend. This could have a tremendous sting right

here this weekend."

The seventh inning Sunday was even wilder than Saturday's with

the Tigers scoring five runs against Pittsburgh's usually reliable

bullpen before the Pirates came back with six runs to get within a

run.

"After we jumped out 9-2, a lot of teams would have shut it

down but they didn't," the Tigers' Vance Wilson said.

Todd Jones finished up by pitching the ninth for his 22nd save

in 25 opportunities, but not without a big scare. Pittsburgh loaded

the bases with one out on Jason Bay's double and two walks, with

Leyland ordering Freddy Sanchez be intentionally walked to put the

potential winning run on base.

But Jose Castillo struck out and Humberto Cota grounded out on a

ball that deflected off Jones' glove directly to second baseman

Placido Polanco. If the ball had veered by even a foot, the Pirates

likely would have scored twice and won.

"The ball wasn't too far from me," said Polanco, who was

relieved the ball was deflected. "For sure, it made it an easier

play. If that ball goes up the middle, you don't know if Carlos

[Guillen, the shortstop] is going to be there."

Monroe's two-run double against Jonah Bayliss keyed the Tigers'

seventh, which marked the only time in the series the Tigers scored

past the fifth inning. Pinch-hitter Omar Infante started the

seventh with the first of three Detroit doubles in the inning and

Wilson added an RBI double three batters later against reliever

John Grabow.

In bottom of the inning, the Pirates had runners on third and

first with six runs already in before Castillo hit into an

inning-ending double play. Before that, they turned a hit batter,

two singles, a walk, reliever Fernando Rodney's run-scoring wild

pitch and shortstop Guillen's error on a Sean Casey grounder into

three runs ahead of Sanchez's second two-run double in as many

innings. Pinch-hitter Ronny Paulino followed with a run-scoring

single.

"We got a little careless, which you can't let happen,"

Leyland said.

Despite another seventh-inning letdown, the Tigers quickly

proved there would be no carryover effect from Saturday's loss by

jumping on Pirates starter Ian Snell (7-6) for three runs in the

first. Guillen's two-run homer over the right field stands followed

Magglio Ordonez's run-scoring double.

Guillen's drive, his 10th, was estimated at 449 feet, but was

topped when Shelton led off the second with a 459-foot shot off the

center field batter's backdrop. Shelton's homer was his 16th and

second of the series against the team that failed to protect him

for the Rule 5 draft at the 2003 winter meetings. Shelton had five

hits and four RBI in the series.

The final score didn't indicate how well Tigers rookie starter

Zach Miner (5-1) pitched in winning his fifth in a row. He retired

the first 11 batters and didn't give up a hit until Sanchez singled

leading off the fifth. Sanchez's 13-game hitting streak ended

Saturday, but he came back with three hits Sunday to jump his

average to .363.

Miner lasted 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and six hits.

Snell, losing his third in a row after winning five straight by

allowing four runs and seven hits in five innings.

Game notes
The Tigers finished 15-3 against the NL, easily their best

record since interleague play began in 1997. The Pirates went 3-12

against the AL after going 5-7 last year. ... The Pirates' Jose

Hernandez, making a spot start at shortstop, left after four

innings with tightness in his lower back. ... Tigers starting

pitchers are 16-2 over the last month. ... The Pirates are 8-24 and

the Tigers are 14-8 in one-run games.