DETROIT (Interstat) — Framber Valdez pitched seven strong innings and the Detroit Tigers used three home runs to defeat the Athletics 4-1 on Thursday night at Comerica Park, completing a three-game sweep.

Valdez allowed three hits and one earned run while striking out nine, improving to 5-6. The left-hander rebounded from consecutive losses in which he had allowed nine earned runs over 11 innings. He retired the first 10 batters he faced before Jacob Wilson singled to open the fifth inning.

The Tigers took the lead in the third when catcher Jake Rogers hit a solo home run to left field, his third of the season. Rogers finished 1-for-1 with a walk and the homer.

Detroit broke the game open in the fifth. After Kerry Carpenter walked, shortstop Zach McKinstry drove a 1-0 pitch to right-center field for a two-run homer, his fourth. That gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

Athletics starter Jack Perkins took the loss, falling to 2-5. The right-hander allowed three runs on two hits over three innings, walking one and striking out two. He exited after the fifth inning after throwing 56 pitches.

The Athletics scored their only run in the top of the fifth. Wilson led off with a single, and Lawrence Butler was hit by a pitch. After Colby Thomas flied out, Henry Bolte grounded into a forceout that allowed Wilson to score, tying the game 1-1. But Valdez struck out Alika Williams to end the threat.

Detroit added an insurance run in the seventh when Eduardo Valencia, pinch-hitting for designated hitter James Outman, homered to center field on the first pitch he saw from reliever Mark Leiter Jr. It was Valencia’s first home run of the season.

Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth inning for his 11th save, allowing one hit and striking out one.

The Tigers’ bullpen also got scoreless innings from Kyle Finnegan and a combined effort from Finnegan and the starter. Finnegan gave up one hit in the eighth before Jansen closed it out.

The Athletics had five hits in the game. Shea Langeliers singled and walked, and Jonah Heim had two singles. Wilson also singled twice. But could not capitalize, stranding seven runners.

Detroit got six hits, including two from Hao-Yu Lee. Kevin McGonigle singled in the seventh and scored on Valencia’s homer. Rogers and McKinstry each homered.

The game lasted 2 hours, 26 minutes in front of 20,699 fans.

Oakland lost its fifth straight game and fell to 41-52. The Athletics have dropped 10 of their last 13 after losing two of three at home to Miami before the All-Star break and then being swept in Detroit.

Detroit improved to 43-50, winning for the sixth time in seven games. The Tigers swept the Athletics in the two-game series earlier this week, winning 6-1 on Wednesday and 6-2 on Tuesday.

The Tigers opened the scoring in the third when Rogers homered on a 1-1 pitch from Perkins. That was the only run allowed by Perkins until the fifth.

In the fifth, Perkins walked Carpenter after a leadoff lineout, then McKinstry homered. Perkins was replaced by Luis Medina after the homer. Medina pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out one. José Suarez then threw 1 1/3 perfect innings with two strikeouts.

Leiter gave up Valencia’s homer in the seventh but struck out two in the inning.

Valdez’s outing was his longest since June 21, when he threw seven innings against the Chicago White Sox. He had struggled in his previous two starts, allowing five earned runs in five innings against Texas on July 2 and four earned runs in six innings against Houston on June 27.

He struck out nine Athletics batters, including five of the first six he faced. He allowed only one extra-base hit: Langeliers’ single in the sixth.

The Athletics threatened in the ninth against Jansen. Langeliers walked with one out, and Wilson singled with two outs, putting runners on first and third. But Lawrence Butler lined out sharply to shortstop McKinstry, and Tyler Soderstrom lined out to first baseman Spencer Torkelson to end the game.

The loss dropped the Athletics to 1-8 in July. They will travel to Chicago to face the White Sox on Friday.

The Tigers will host the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.

The Interstat game simulator had projected a final score of Tigers 6, Athletics 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave Detroit a 59.70 percent probability of winning. The Tigers were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over/under line of 8.5.