MLB: Texas 15, Detroit 5

ARLINGTON, Texas, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Michael Young doubled twice in the biggest inning of the playoffs Saturday, propelling Texas into the World Series with a 15-5 blasting of Detroit.

The Rangers needed six games to eliminate the Tigers in the American League Championship Series and will play in the World Series for the second straight year. Texas fell to San Francisco last season in its first appearance in baseball's biggest show.

The World Series will begin next Wednesday in either St. Louis or Milwaukee. The Cardinals will own a 3-2 lead over the Brewers when those teams play Game 6 of the NL Championship Series Sunday.

Although Texas had won six of its first nine playoff games this year and had displayed home run power at crucial times, the team with the highest regular-season batting average in the majors had seldom been able to string a series of hits together.

That all ended in the third inning Saturday when Texas scored nine runs to overcome an early 2-0 deficit. The Rangers went on to record 17 hits -- three of them by Young and two each for six other members of the lineup.

Six of those hits came in the third inning, during which Texas benefited from four walks and a fielding error. Detroit starter Max Scherzer retired only one batter in the inning and was charged with six of the runs.

Young's first double in the inning drove home Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton to tie the score. Young then put Texas in front for good when he scored on Adrian Beltre's single.

Texas had scored seven runs when Young came up again as the 13th man to bat in the inning. He doubled again, this time driving in Ian Kinsler and Andrus with the final two runs of the frame.

The huge inning did not include a home run, but Young added a solo shot in the seventh and Nelson Cruz hit a two-run blast in the same inning.

Cruz, who hit six home runs in the series, was named the ALCS MVP. He became the first player in major league history to hit a walk-off grand slam in the playoffs and the first to hit two extra-inning homers in the same post-season series.

Miguel Cabrera, the leading hitter in the majors this season, provided the only Detroit highlight with two home runs.

Texas starter Derek Holland pitched only 4 2/3 innings and the victory went to Alexi Ogando, who worked two innings of one-hit relief. It was his second win of the playoffs.