DETROIT (AP) -- Austin Jackson had four hits and Rick Porcello pitched eight strong innings to lead the Detroit Tigers past the Kansas City Royals 9-3 on Tuesday night.

The Tigers scored five runs in the first and won for only the third time in 11 games.

Porcello (2-2) took advantage of the offensive support to snap out of his slump, allowing three runs and seven hits. In his previous two starts, the right-hander was 0-2 with a 15.26 ERA.

Luke Hochevar (2-2) took the loss for Kansas City, yielding nine runs on 12 hits and three walks in four innings. Hochevar had given up only three runs over 11 1-3 innings in his last two starts.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)