DETROIT - Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Max Scherzer will all happily give Jim Leyland credit for improving their careers. Saturday, they got a chance to pay him back. On the day the Tigers honoured their former manager in a pregame ceremony, Cabrera and Martinez both hit three-run homers and Scherzer threw well enough to lead the Tigers over the Minnesota Twins 9-3. "We had a lot of great memories with Jim, so we wanted to give him one more," Cabrera said. "We wanted that for him, because of everything he did for us." Cabrera connected for his fifth homer, tagging Kyle Gibson (3-3), while Martinez hit his eighth of the season and fourth in the last six games. "It was great to see Jim today, because hes still a big part of our family," Martinez said. "You see him today, running around and hugging people, and you forget how old he is, because he doesnt have the attitude of an old man. He still seems young, and we all loved seeing him, because he has done so much for all of us." Scherzer (5-1) wasnt sharp yet still won, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks in six innings. He struck out six — his team-record streak of fanning at least seven in seven starts to begin a season ended. "I couldnt find my release point today, but I was able to get through it," he said. "I gave up one big shot, but the rest of the time, I was able to make enough pitches to get the outs I needed and get out of any jams. "And Leyland must have been proud. He always managed for Miggy and Victor to hit three-run homers for him," he said. After the 69-year-old Leyland threw out the first pitch, another of his favourite players made an immediate impact. Don Kelly, a utilityman who owes his major league career to Leylands patience and trust, reached over the left-field fence in the first inning to steal a homer from Kurt Suzuki. Kelly then scored the games first run as the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the second on RBI singles by Alex Avila and Andrew Romine. Detroit added another run when second baseman Brian Dozier dropped shortstop Danny Santanas flip, then threw wildly to the plate as Avila scored. "Danny should have just thrown to first there, but he got himself into trouble by trying to get the out at second," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You cant make those kind of mistakes against that team." The error had major consequences, as Cabrera followed with his homer for a 6-0 lead. "That was a huge mistake by the Twins, and we all knew it as soon as we saw the error," Scherzer said. "If you let us extend an inning and get Miggy to the plate, hes going to make you pay for it. Thats exactly what he did." The Twins closed the deficit on Doziers long, three-run shot in the third, but werent able to do anything else against Scherzer. Anthony Swarzak relieved Gibson and pitched four shutout innings, but the damage had already been done. "I just got behind too many guys, and then you have to come in over the plate," Gibson said. "You cant do that against a team like Detroit. They are a pretty good team when you have to throw the ball down the middle." Martinez broke open the game with a three-run homer off Michael Tonkin in the seventh. Martinez, who is hitting .328 at the age of 35, is on pace to easily surpass his career high of 25. "I knew Victor was a great hitter before I got here, but he has continued to surprise me all season," said Leylands successor as manager, Brad Ausmus. "I keep saying it — Ive never seen a hitter like him." Tigers reliever Phil Coke got into the game in his latest role as the mop-up man. He allowed a leadoff single, drawing boos from the crowd, but Cabrera helped him out with a 3-6-3 double play that led to a shutout inning. "We need to get Phil going in games like this so that we can work him in to tougher situations," Ausmus said. "Miggy helped him out today, and hopefully, this will get the ball rolling." NOTES: The Tigers honoured Leyland and had him throw out the first pitch to longtime friend and Tigers bench coach Gene Lamont. Leyland, the only manager to lead Detroit to four post-season appearances, was also presented with a framed painting by team president Dave Dombrowski, Justin Verlander and Cabrera. "It was a great run for eight years," Leyland said before the game. "I only wish we could have brought a World Series trophy to this city." ... A fan behind the Twins dugout got an ovation after catching a foul ball with his left hand while cradling his daughter in his right arm. ... Scherzers eight games with at least six strikeouts is the second-longest streak to start a season in franchise history, trailing his own 19-game run last year. Chicago Blackhawks Pro Shop .com) - Jenny Boucek is the new head coach of the Seattle Storm. Fake Blackhawks Jerseys . 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"The seasons been started now for a couple of weeks and Ive not featured at Villa.BARCELONA, Spain -- Former Barcelona player Luis Enrique promised a new start for the Catalan club after signing a two-year contract to become coach on Wednesday. Luis Enrique signed the deal with club president Josep Bartomeu two days after it was announced by the club. That was two days after coach Gerardo Martino stepped down when Barcelona finished its first season without a major trophy in six years. "We believe that this is the beginning of a new Barcelona, a Barcelona that will excite again," Luis Enrique said. "When I left Barca the club told me that it was a see you later and they have kept their word. I cant wait to hear the hymn of Barcelona in the Camp Nou." The 44-year-old Luis Enrique won two league titles as a Barcelona player from 1996-2004 and coached its B team from 2008-11. He also coached at Roma, and led Celta Vigo to a respectable ninth-place finish this season after installing an attractive passing attack on the Barcelona model. Luis Enriques hiring continues a recent tradition of in-house coaches recently represented in Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova. That string was broken when Martino was hastily brought in last year after Vilanova resigned to focus on his battle with throat cancer that he eventually lost last month. Luis Enrique is the clubs eighth former captain to coach the club, joining such greats as Laszlo Kubala, Cesar Rodriguez, Johan Cruyff and Guardiola. Although Luis Enrique was never in the same class as them, he will be only the second former captain to coach the clubs B side and first team. Guardiola is the other. Luis Enrique asked not to be compared with Guardiola, and said his best quality as a coach was being a leader, not as an expert in tactics, despite his insider knowledge of Barcelonas ball-control approach. "I dont rely too heavily on tactical knowhow, instead I focus on managing a group, managing egos," he said. "There is work that goes on during the week, work based oon knowing each player.dddddddddddd. I try to be everything a leader is." Luis Enriques immediate goal is to work with sports director Andoni Zubizarreta and rebuild a squad that has experienced a slow slide over the past two years. "He is a coach that knows our way of playing, our philosophy. We believe that we have put the squad that we are going to build for next season in good hands," said Zubizarreta, who also recalled that Enrique had "put a goal or two" past the former Barcelona goalkeeper when Enrique played for Real Madrid. Under Luis Enrique, Barcelona will be expected to bring in reinforcements to help Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Neymar. And he wont be measured -- at least not immediately -- against Guardiola, who won an unprecedented six titles in his first season and 14 of a possible 19 in four years. Luis Enrique acknowledged his other challenge is helping Messi rediscover the competitive spirit that the clubs all-time leading scorer appeared to lack during some matches after recovering from nagging muscle injuries last season. "I am thrilled to have the best player in the world on my team," Enrique said. "Its obvious that Messis output this season wasnt as incredible as in past years ... I hope that with me he can find his best version, but not only him, also Iniesta and Neymar and the rest." Luis Enrique can draw on links with three generations of players, having played alongside veteran Xavi Hernandez, coached former B team player Sergio Busquets, and taken rising talent Rafina Alcantara from Barcelona to Celta on loan and now back. Luis Enrique is one of the few players to have enjoyed successful stints at both Barcelona and Madrid. He occupies a special place among Barcelonas faithful as the one recent player to have left Madrid for Barcelona, in contrast to a group of former stars who left for the Spanish capital, including Luis Figo, Bernd Schuster and Michael Laudrup. ' ' '