Brandon Inge and the Detroit Tigers are in it for the long haul.

Nevermind that no team has ever started 0-7 and gone on to the playoffs. Who cares about all those pundits who ripped on the Tigers for their huge payroll and poor start? It’s a 162-game season, after all.

But even after a 7-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night, Inge and the Tigers sure didn’t sound like they were brimming with confidence.

“It’s the beginning of the year and it gets a lot of attention, but it’s no big deal,” Inge said of the losing streak. “We’re over it now, I guess.”

Marcus Thames and Carlos Guillen homered, Edgar Renteria had three hits and Ivan Rodriguez got the 2,500th hit of his career while the Tigers drew eight walks and struck out just twice.

That was enough to end their worst losing streak to start the season since 2003, when Detroit lost its first nine games and finished 43-119.

“It’s a 162-game season. That is a fact,” manager Jim Leyland said. “They give you all this other stuff — no team’s done this, no team’s done that — but you do play 162 games.”

The Tigers were just 1-for-25 with runners in scoring position and less than two outs this season before teeing off on Jon Lester (1-2) to overcome a 2-0 deficit.

With one out in the fourth, Lester walked Miguel Cabrera and Guillen. Then Renteria tied the game with a two-run double to left. Thames followed by hitting a 3-2 pitch over the Green Monster.

“I had a lot of pitches tonight that I thought were good pitches and they fouled them off,” Lester said. “At times they were very aggressive and at times they were very patient.”

Jeremy Bonderman (1-1) had fallen behind 2-0 in the second when the Red Sox loaded the bases on a single by Sean Casey, a walk to J.D. Drew and an error by second baseman Placido Polanco. Jacoby Ellsbury then walked, forcing in a run, and Julio Lugo singled in another.

It was the second error in two days for Polanco, whose last error had come on July 1, 2006. Tuesday’s throwing error ended his major league-record errorless streak for second basemen at 911 chances and 186 games.

“They were just due to win a game,” said Casey, who spent the past 11⁄2 seasons with the Tigers. “They’re too good a team to go 0-162.”

The longest winless streak at the start of a season by a team that went on to make the postseason was six games by the 1974 Pittsburgh Pirates and the 1995 Cincinnati Reds.

Rodriguez became the 87th player with 2,500 hits when he broke an 0-for-15 slump with a single in the eighth, then promised there’s more to come.

“There’s still a lot of baseball left for me,” he said. “2,500 hits is remarkable and I’m very happy for that.”

Royals 4, Yankees 0

At Kansas City, Mo., Zack Greinke threw eight scoreless innings, and the Royals won a second straight game from the Yankees for the first time since sweeping a three-game series in 2005. Greinke (2-0) gave up six hits, walked two and struck out two, lowering his ERA to 0.60.

Twins 12, White Sox 5

At Chicago, Jason Kubel hit a grand slam and drove in six runs, and the Twins’ 12 runs were their most since beating the White Sox 20-14 and 12-0 on July 6, 2007.

Angels 9, Indians 5

At Anaheim, Calif., Mike Napoli hit his first career grand slam, a second-inning drive, and Garret Anderson, Casey Kotchman and Vladimir Guerrero also homered for the Angels. Dustin Moseley (1-1) allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings to earn the win.

Athletics 6, Blue Jays 3

At Toronto, Mark Ellis had four hits, including the tying triple in the ninth, then scored the go-ahead run in the win. Jeremy Accardo (0-2) blew his first save in four chances. Fernando Hernandez (1-0) worked one hitless inning for the win in his major league debut.

Mariners 7, Rays 1

At St. Petersburg, Fla., Jarrod Washburn (1-1) allowed one run in seven innings, and Jamie Burke hit a three-run homer to lead the Mariners.

Tampa Bay right-hander Andy Sonnanstine (1-1) allowed four runs and seven hits over six innings for the Rays, who have lost four straight.