Too little, too late for the Tigers

Joey Votto ended a long homer drought with his third career grand slam Tuesday night, powering the Cincinnati Reds to a 9-5 victory that ended the Detroit Tigers’ longest winning streak in two years. Sal Romano (4-7) had a second straight solid outing, limiting the Tigers to four singles over seven shutout innings. Billy Hamilton also homered as the Reds pulled away to a 9-0 lead. The Tigers had won five straight and moved within a game of .500. They haven’t been to the break-even mark since they were a season-best 4-4 on April 8. They’ve wasted five chances to get back. Trailing 9-0, Detroit finally broke through in the ninth when Wandy Peralta walked home a run and Leonys Martin followed with a double. The Reds loaded the bases in the third with the help of a pair of walks from Matthew Boyd (4-5). Votto hit a high fly to right field that had just enough _ Nicholas Castellanos stretched his glove over the top of the wall and barely missed the ball. Votto’s first homer since May 13 ended a 30-game drought. His last homer at Great American Ball Park was May 6. Votto hit 36 homers last season, one shy of his career high. He has only seven this season.