DETROIT (Interstat) — The Detroit Tigers rode a four-run seventh inning and a dominant pitching performance from Brant Hurter to a 7-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park, taking two of three in the weekend series before a crowd of 24,083.

The game lasted 2 hours, 31 minutes.

Hurter, who improved to 4-0 on the season, allowed one run on seven hits over seven innings, striking out five and walking two. The left-hander worked out of a jam in the fifth inning and then retired the side in order in the sixth before Texas scratched across its only run in the top of the seventh. Hurter gave way to a trio of relievers who closed out the game without further damage.

Jack Leiter took the loss for Texas, falling to 1-3. The right-hander allowed three runs on four hits over six innings, striking out six and walking one. Leiter pitched effectively into the sixth, but a leadoff triple and a run-scoring single gave Detroit a lead it never relinquished.

The Rangers struck first in the opening inning. Brandon Nimmo singled to right field and advanced to second on a single by Josh Jung. But Hurter stranded both runners by striking out Jake Burger to end the inning. Texas threatened again in the fifth when Josh Smith singled and Kyle Higashioka drew a two-out walk, but Nimmo grounded out to first to extinguish the rally.

Detroit’s offense came alive in the bottom of the fifth. Riley Greene drew a one-out walk, and Spencer Torkelson followed by crushing a 1-1 pitch from Leiter over the wall in left-center field for a two-run home run, his sixth of the season. Torkelson’s blast gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

The Tigers added a run in the sixth. Jake Rogers led off with a triple to left field, and Kevin McGonigle singled to right to drive him in, making the score 3-1.

Texas finally broke through in the top of the seventh. Ezequiel Duran led off with a double to left, advanced to third on a walk to Smith, and scored on a groundout by Higashioka. Smith moved to third on the play, but Nimmo struck out looking to end the inning, leaving the Rangers trailing by two.

Detroit then put the game out of reach in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Kerry Carpenter singled to right and moved to second on a groundout. Hao-Yu Lee followed with a single to right that deflected off second baseman Josh Smith, allowing Carpenter to score. Rogers singled to right, putting runners at first and third, and McGonigle singled to right to drive in Lee. McGonigle advanced to second on the throw home, and Matt Vierling doubled to right-center, scoring Rogers and McGonigle to make it 7-1.

The Rangers managed a single by Corey Seager in the eighth and a single by Smith in the ninth but could not mount a rally. Tyler Holton, Kyle Finnegan and Burch Smith each threw scoreless relief for Detroit, with Holton allowing one hit and striking out one in two-thirds of an inning, Finnegan striking out one in a perfect eighth, and Smith working a hitless ninth.

McGonigle led the Tigers’ offense with two hits and two RBIs. Torkelson drove in two runs with his home run. Vierling had a double and two RBIs. Rogers added a triple and a single, scoring twice. Carpenter and Lee each had one hit and one RBI.

For Texas, Nimmo, Jung, Smith, Duran and Seager each had one hit. Duran’s double was the Rangers’ only extra-base hit. Texas stranded six runners and went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

The victory lifted Detroit to 18-17 on the season, while Texas fell to 16-18.

The series opened Friday with a Rangers 5-4 victory, but Detroit rebounded Saturday with a 5-1 win before Sunday’s lopsided decision. Texas now heads to New York for a three-game series against the Yankees beginning Tuesday, while Detroit hosts Boston for a three-game set starting Monday.

The most important sequence of the game came in the bottom of the seventh, when the Tigers broke open a 3-1 contest with four runs on five hits, turning a close game into a rout. Texas had just pulled within two runs in the top of the inning, but Detroit answered immediately with the big inning to put the game away.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Texas Rangers 5, Detroit Tigers 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Tigers a 51.70 percent probability to win, and Detroit was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5.