WASHINGTON – Carlos Guillen and Marcus Thames homered, Detroit scored six times in the fifth and the Tigers held on to beat the Washington Nationals 9-8 on Monday night.

Guillen drove in three runs and Gary Sheffield had two RBIs for the Tigers, who have won three of four and are 9-4 in interleague play this season.

Mike Maroth (5-2) won despite giving up five runs – four earned – on six hits over five-plus innings. The left-hander, who doubled in the fifth for his first career extra-base hit, walked two and struck out four.

The Tigers had to withstand a three-run ninth-inning rally against Todd Jones, who got Ronnie Belliard to ground out to short with runners on the corners for the final out.

Leading 3-1 in the fifth, the Tigers sent nine batters to the plate. Maroth doubled, Curtis Granderson walked and Placido Polanco singled to load the bases, before Sheffield’s two-run single to left-center. After Magglio Ordonez walked to load the bases, Guillen lined a two-run single to short right.

Ivan Rodriguez hit into a run-scoring double play, and Thames drove a 3-2 pitch down the left-field line and into the upper deck for a 9-1 lead.

Matt Chico (3-5), trying for his first victory since May 17 after five consecutive no-decisions, gave up eight runs on nine hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out one.

The Nationals scored four times in the sixth. Felipe Lopez tripled home Cristian Guzman, then scored when Guillen booted Ryan Zimmerman’s grounder. Maroth departed after allowing Dmitri Young’s single and walking Austin Kearns to load the bases.

Ryan Church greeted Bobby Seay with an RBI single to right, and Brian Schneider hit his second sacrifice fly to make it 9-5.

Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the second. Ordonez singled and went to third on a double by Guillen. After Rodriguez struck out, Thames singled in a run and Brandon Inge hit a sacrifice fly.

Schneider’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning cut the lead in half.

Guillen made it 3-1 in the fourth, hammering Chico’s fastball off the mezzanine facade in left-center for his 10th homer.

Pinch-hitter Ryan Langerhans opened the ninth with a double down the right-field line off Jones. After Robert Fick singled to left, Guzman sliced a triple into the right-field corner, making it 9-7. Lopez singled Guzman home and Zimmerman followed with a single to right.

Jones fanned Young, and a fielder’s choice grounder by Kearns left runners at the corners with two down. Belliard grounded out to short to end it.

Notes: Detroit optioned RHP Yorman Bazardo to Triple-A Toledo and recalled RHP Eulogio De La Cruz from the Mud Hens. Bazardo was 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in four relief appearances. De La Cruz made his major league debut in the eighth. … Schneider leads Washington with four sacrifice flies.

AP-ES-06-18-07 2210EDT