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LOS ANGELES -- Victor Martinez helped the Detroit Tigers overcome the struggles of Joe Nathan. The Detroit Tigers closer blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night against the Dodgers. But Martinez picked him up in a big way with a leadoff home run in the 10th against Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen, and Detroit pulled out a 7-6 victory in which both pitching staffs made a combined 382 pitches during the 4 hour, 16-minute marathon. "Kenley Jansen is filthy, but Victor Martinez is a professional hitter," Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter said. "Hes at the plate, just trying to figure you out, and I think he figured out how Jansens ball moves. "He was able to get inside of it and hit it out of the ballpark and come up with another clutch hit. Thats what this team is capable of doing. We have some veteran guys who have good at-bats and can get the job done." Martinez drove a 2-2 pitch deep into the pavilion seats in right-centre to make a winner of Nathan (2-0). One night earlier, Martinez tied the score with a two-out single in the ninth against Jansen before the Dodgers pulled out a 3-2 victory in 10. "Vic takes hitting very seriously, and I think his main focus is to just try to get the barrel of the bat to the ball," manager Brad Ausmus said. "If you watch him on a regular basis, hes fighting to do that. And if a pitcher is trying to get him out, Victor is going to make it very difficult for him -- especially with men on base." Joba Chamberlain gave up a single to Hanley Ramirez to open the 10th. But left-hander Ian Krol struck out Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier, and Al Albuquerque retired Matt Kemp on a grounder to get his first major league save. Nathan, who said during a radio interview earlier in the day that he was experiencing a "dead arm" -- and reiterated those thoughts in the clubhouse before batting practice, was trying to protect a 6-3 lead for Anabel Sanchez. But Gonzalez led off with a home run to centre field, and the Dodgers loaded the bases with walks to Ethier and Kemp and a single by Juan Uribe. Yasiel Puig, who wasnt in the starting lineup for the third straight game because of a strained ligament in his left thumb, batted for Tim Federowicz and struck out. Pinch-hitter Scott Van Slyke got a run home with a fielders choice grounder before Dee Gordon singled to right field, delivering Kemp with the tying run. "Joes stuff looked as crisp as weve see it, and he said he felt like that was the best stuff hes had, in terms of the break on his slider and the way the fastball came out of his hand," Ausmus said. "So maybe once he got out there, his arm played a little better than he mentioned earlier." Detroits Nick Castellanos helped spoil Josh Becketts long-awaited return with a three-run homer, his first in the big leagues. Sanchez allowed three runs -- one earned -- and six hits over five innings and struck out six. Beckett threw 85 pitches through four innings, giving up five runs -- four earned -- and five hits while striking out five. The three-time All-Star, who joined the Dodgers in a nine-player megadeal with Boston in August 2012, made only 15 starts with them prior to this one because of injuries that had sidelined him since his previous outing on May 13 of last season. Beckett gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead in the second, laying down a suicide-squeeze bunt in front of the plate with Uribe charging down the line. It was Becketts first RBI since June 14, 2009, when he homered against J.A. Happ in an interleague game at Philadelphia. But the Tigers pulled ahead 5-3 in the third when Castellanos drove a pitch to centre field, and the ball skimmed off the top of the eight-foot fence before landing on the other side. "It was just rust," Beckett said. "After the first inning it was just a baseball game. I felt good in that fourth inning." Hunter did not play because of a bruised left knee, which occurred Tuesday when he tried to make a sliding catch of a foul ball by Federowicz near the short padded wall in front of the grandstand. "I came here early today, trying to get it loosened up, and its still swollen," Hunter said. "I cant really do too much about it. But its only been a little over 24 hours, so what were going to do is just take it one day at a time. My plan is to come back Friday, but if its still a little sore, we want to get rid of it early in the season so Ill be able to perform for my ballclub." NOTES: One of A.J. Ellis biggest regrets about going on the disabled list Tuesday was missing this series against the Tigers and Ausmus, his teammate during Ausmus final two major league seasons (2009-10). "I was fortunate to catch in the major leagues before I met Brad, but I wasnt a major league catcher until after I met Brad," Ellis said a day after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. "The two-year mentorship he gave me was what turned me into the catcher I am today. He taught me how to prepare a game plan, how to take care of my body in between starts, how to be a better teammate, and how my focus should be on my pitching staff only." Ozzie Smith Jersey . - Urijah (The California Kid) Faber finds himself in an unaccustomed position Saturday night at UFC 175 — on the preliminary card. Rollie Fingers Jersey . -- Catriona Matthew remained atop the Airbus LPGA Classic leaderboard Friday, birdieing four of the last seven holes to take a one-stroke advantage over Charley Hull into the weekend. http://www.padresrookiestore.com/Padres-Cory-Spangenberg-Kids-Jersey/ . He looked very comfortable Wednesday night. Konerko had a big three-run double and Gordon Beckham homered for the second straight game, leading the Chicago White Sox to an 8-3 victory over the sliding Chicago Cubs. Craig Stammen Jersey . Bayern winger Franck Ribery marked his league return after recovering from a cracked rib by scoring two goals and setting up two more as the league leaders inflicted the heaviest home defeat on Bremen in the Bundesliga. Trevor Hoffman Jersey . Colorado came up big against Chicago last spring, and repeated that performance Tuesday night. Varlamov stopped 36 shots and Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche in a 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks.MELBOURNE, Australia - Sebastian Vettel has a warning for those already writing off his chances of a fifth-consecutive Formula One title — the season is long and the teams current engine problems wont last. The Red Bull driver has experienced a troubled off-season, with the team severely restricted in its testing because engine supplier Renault suffered a myriad of problems trying to make the sports new six-cylinder turbo hybrid powertrain function in anything approaching a reliable fashion. While Vettel acknowledged that Mercedes will be the team to beat in this weekends season-opening race in Australia — and Red Bull will likely be off the pace in early races — he was adamant another title was within his reach, even if it was not in the imperious style of 2013 when he won the last nine races. "We are not in the best position for this race, but its a different story when you talk about the championship," Vettel said Thursday. Vettel did not have far to look for inspiration about how to overcome early-season difficulties as he was speaking while sitting beside Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, who found himself in a similar predicament in 2012. "Two years back Fernando was on the grid with 1.5 seconds to pole, and very close to beating us for the title at the very last race, so anything can happen," Vettel said. "We are a strong team. We have a lot of good people on board with a lot of strong resources. We should progress as the season goes on." Red Bull was not alone in suffering severe problems in the off-season. While the ongoing troubles are expected to particularly afflict the Renault-powered cars in the early races, all teams will be anxious heading into this Fridays practice sessions. The new computer-controlled engines must balance the poweer supply between the combustion engine, turbo charger, and the battery-stored electric power — the role of which is vastly greater than in previous years.dddddddddddd. Added to that is the need to reduce fuel use by about a third on last year to meet new rules, understand the altered aerodynamics and get used to new tires. Little wonder that F1 officials have relaxed the curfew restricting how many hours engineers and crew can spend in pit lane working on the cars. Some bleak forecasters are even predicting there will not be enough finishers on Sunday to fill the ten points positions, and race director Charlie Whiting on Thursday was asked questions about the contingency plans if no cars are running. Simple answer - the race will be stopped. While such doomsday scenarios are very unlikely, there was a strong possibility of several cars not getting within seven per cent of the pole sitters qualifying time and therefore being excluded from the race. Stewards have always had some discretion to exempt teams from that rule and Whiting said that Melbournes stewards will look upon such scenarios in Melbourne "very sympathetically." The men considered most likely to vie for that that pole-sitting yardstick are the Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg who, in contrast to most drivers, had enjoyed smooth and impressive testing sessions. The Mercedes drivers are old colleagues from their childhood days, and Hamilton said their friendship will not be tarnished if they end up fighting each other for race wins and perhaps even the championship as many expect. "It (the relationship) will be the same at the start as at the end," Hamilton said. "We have been racing together since we were 13. This is a stronger championship but I dont see any issues." ' ' '