DETROIT -- On a day of dandy Detroit debuts, Alex Gonzalez helped Brad Ausmus start his tenure as Tigers manager with a win. Gonzalez lined an RBI single off Greg Holland in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday in Ausmus first game since replacing Jim Leyland. Victor Martinez homered for Detroit, and Justin Verlander was sharp aside from a three-run fourth inning that wasnt all his fault. "Theres two things that could have spoiled opening day for me," Ausmus said. "One, if we lost. And two, if the sun wasnt out. Because for me opening day, the sun is out, fans are having fun, theyre eating their popcorn, drinking their beer. The energy is higher." Kansas City lost its sixth straight opener. Ausmus was upstaged a bit by another newcomer on a bright, pleasant day in downtown Detroit. Gonzalez was acquired by the Tigers in late March following an injury to shortstop Jose Iglesias. Detroit is just hoping he can fill in competently, and Gonzalez did not impress at first. His error in the fourth helped the Royals score an extra run, but he made up for that with a tying triple in the seventh. Gonzalez then singled with men on first and third in the ninth. "Ive played on a lot of opening days -- I dont even remember all of them -- but this one was special," Gonzalez said. "I was looking for a pitch that I could elevate, and I got one. I rounded first and all I saw was the whole team coming at me." Joe Nathan -- another new face on Detroits roster -- pitched a scoreless ninth. Nathan (1-0) signed with the Tigers to become their closer, but hell have to wait a bit longer for a save opportunity. Holland didnt have a save chance either after converting 47 of 50 last year. Instead, the right-hander came into a difficult situation in the ninth and couldnt get out of it. Wade Davis (0-1) yielded a one-out walk to Alex Avila and a single to Nick Castellanos before Holland allowed the single to Gonzalez. "I get paid to get people out, and I didnt do it today," Holland said. "Were not here to fight and compete. Were here to win." Detroits Tyler Collins made his major league debut as a pinch runner for Avila -- and ended up scoring the winning run. Salvador Perez had four hits for Kansas City. Although there were still a few patches of snow in the Detroit area Monday morning, the game was played under a sunny sky with temperatures in the 50s. With its recently re-sodded field, Comerica Park looked sharp. But the Tigers, coming off three straight AL Central titles, were sloppy at first. Right fielder Torii Hunter dropped a routine flyball in the second, and although Verlander pitched out of that jam, he couldnt escape the fourth. Salvador Perez tied it at 1 with a one-out RBI double off Verlander, and Lorenzo Cain slapped an RBI single through the hole into left field to put Kansas City ahead. After a two-out walk, Gonzalez bobbled Norichika Aokis slow grounder for an error that loaded the bases. Verlander then walked Omar Infante, forcing in Kansas Citys third run of the inning. Verlander had surgery in January after injuring his groin, but he pitched 20 scoreless innings during spring training. He allowed three runs -- two earned -- and six hits in six innings Monday, walking three and striking out two. That was enough for a no-decision. Verlander was making his seventh straight start on opening day, and hes only 1-1 in those games. "I never seem to find a win on opening day, but the bullpen shut them down and we got one anyway. Thats all that matters," Verlander said. "Every opening day is special, but this one meant a little more, because I had to really work and grind to get here for this one after the surgery." With Kansas City ahead 3-1 in the seventh, Austin Jackson hit a one-out triple and Avila drew a walk. Aaron Crow replaced starter James Shields and struck out Castellanos, but the third strike was a wild pitch that allowed Jackson to score. Gonzalez followed with a triple to the gap in left-centre. Shields gave up three runs and five hits in 6 1-3 innings. NOTES: Infante received a hand from the Detroit crowd when he was introduced with the Kansas City players before the game. He left the Tigers and signed with the Royals in the off-season. ... The crowd of 45,068 was the second-largest in Comerica history. ... It was the fourth four-hit game of Perezs career. ... The Royals were 67-6 last year when leading by 2 or more runs at any point from the seventh inning on, according to STATS. Hector Santiago White Sox Jersey .C. -- Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has been ruled out for Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons. Lance Johnson White Sox Jersey . "It was awesome," he said. Coming off an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, Toronto found itself in a deep hole early after the Reds put an eight spot up on starter Liam Hendriks (six runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched) and Todd Redmond in the second. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/774e-ian-h...-white-sox.html. With a win tonight, Buehrle will match Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka for the most wins in the majors with 11. Buehrle is 10-4 with a 2.32 earned run average, but has lost his last three starts, including a 7-3 setback at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday. Daniel Palka 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. Adam Engel Jersey . The injury will keep the Finnish forward out of the Olympics. The 29-year-old has 20 goals and 41 points in 56 games this season, his first with Tampa Bay.CHICAGO -- Gio Gonzalez delivered another dominant performance, providing more evidence he is finally healthy again. It looks as if the shoulder problem that sidelined him for a month bothered the left-hander about as much as the opposing hitters. Gonzalez pitched two-hit ball over seven innings, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 Saturday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader. Gonzalez had his way with one of the weakest lineups in the majors in his third start back from the disabled list, outperforming Dallas Beeler in the rightys major league debut. "Obviously coming (off) the DL and trying to work your way back is going to be a process," Gonzalez said. "Its not going to happen overnight. Its good to see little by little using fastball and changeup at the same time. Its good to know when you need them theyll be there." Anthony Rendon had three hits, including a two-out double against Beeler in the sixth before scoring the games first run on a wild pitch. He added an RBI triple off Justin Grimm and came home on a sacrifice fly by Adam LaRoche against Wesley Wright in a two-run eighth. Denard Span chipped in with two hits and scored a run. He also made a leaping catch in front of the centre-field wall after getting turned around on a drive by Justin Ruggiano in the fourth, and the Nationals snapped a three-game losing streak. Gonzalez (5-4) had little trouble against a team that came in with the majors second-worst batting average. He struck out seven and walked two while improving 2-0 in three starts after missing a month because of inflammation in his pitching shoulder. He shut down Chicago after throwing six effective innings in a 3-0 win at Milwaukee on Monday. Tyler Clippard worked the eighth and Rafael Soriano finished for his 19th save in 21 chances. As for Beeler, he was about as good as Gonzalez. Called up from Triple-A Iowa as thhe 26th man, he pitched four-hit ball while allowing an unearned run in six innings.dddddddddddd "I was a lot calmer than what I thought Id be," he said. "I walked out there, took a deep breath, threw my warmup pitches, kind of looked around again, exhaled and I was like, All right, same game Ive been playing for the last 20 years." Beeler also singled in his first at-bat when he lined the first pitch he saw up the middle in the third, drawing big cheers from the crowd. Neither team got an extra-base hit until Rendon doubled to left in the sixth. He moved up on a passed ball by John Baker before Ryan Zimmerman walked, and he scored the games first run when Beeler bounced a changeup to LaRoche. Otherwise, it was quite a debut for the rookie. "He was commanding his pitches," Rendon said. "Sinker and cutter and a pretty good curveball out there." NOTES: The Nationals remain optimistic that OF Bryce Harper will return from a torn ligament in his left thumb early in the week, if not Monday. The 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, who was injured sliding head first into third in a game against San Diego in April, has been rehabbing in the minors. "Hes progressing really well," manager Matt Williams said. "I feel good at some point this coming week (he will return), Monday is a possibility." ... Washington recalled Game 2 starter Blake Treinen and reliever Xavier Cedeno from Triple-A Syracuse while optioning RHP Taylor Hill to the minor league club. ... Chicago OF Junior Lake was back in the lineup for Game 1 after sitting out Friday. He slid hard into a metal door in the outfield wall and left Thursdays game. ... The Cubs have their first scheduled Sunday off in 82 years because of the annual Pride Parade in Chicago. The last one was on June 19, 1932. Chicago played the Giants in New York on a Saturday and then visited Philadelphia on a Monday. ' ' '