Indians' 4-Run Rally In 7th Tops Tigers 5-3
CLEVELAND (AP) — Asdrubal Cabrera singled home the go-ahead run in a four-run seventh inning as the Cleveland Indians rallied to beat Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander 5-3 on Thursday night.
Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner tied it at 3 by homering on the first two pitches of the inning by Verlander (11-6).
Joe Smith (7-2) threw two pitches to get the win. He got Miguel Cabrera to ground into an inning-ending double play in the top half.
Vinnie Pestano pitched the eighth and Chris Perez the ninth for his 29th save in 31 chances.
Jason Kipnis followed Cabrera with another RBI single as Cleveland took two of three in the series, dropping Detroit a half-game behind the idle Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
The Indians are 3½ games out. They have won seven of nine from the Tigers with Perez saving each victory. He closed this one by fanning Quintin Berry with runners on first and third.
Austin Jackson had three hits and Delmon Young homered for Detroit, which lost for only the fourth time in 18 games.
Verlander came in with a 6-1 record in seven outings since June 14. He had a three-hitter until the Indians erupted for six hits in the seventh.
It was the 62nd straight start in which Verlander worked at least six innings. He dropped to 40-12 over that span, which is the longest streak since Hall of Famer Steve Carlton's 69-game run for Philadelphia from 1979-82.
Santana stunned the right-hander by slamming his first pitch deep into the seats in right-center for his eighth homer. Hafner hit a towering shot to the same area for his 10th of the year.
Jose Lopez singled before Verlander got two quick outs. But the reigning AL MVP and Cy Young winner could not slam the door. Shin-Soo Choo singled and Cabrera grounded a single between first and second.
First baseman Prince Fielder cut off right fielder Brennan Boesch's throw and would have had an easy play on Cabrera to end the inning — except Verlander was late covering second after the other two middle infielders had gone to back up elsewhere.
Kipnis, who had a sacrifice fly to tie it at 1 in the first, singled home Choo for a 5-3 lead.
Verlander came in with a 9-2 record in his last 13 starts against Cleveland. But allowing nine hits and five runs over seven innings dropped him to 6-10 with a 5.83 ERA in 17 career starts in Cleveland.
Jackson opened the game with an infield single off Indians starter Zach McAllister nd going to second when third baseman Lopez threw away the slow roller for an error. McAllister struck out Berry and Miguel Cabrera before Fielder poked an RBI single the other way, between third and short to make it 1-0.
Jackson's two-out RBI single scored Alex Avila from second in the fourth and Delmon Young hit his 11th homer in the sixth for a 3-1 lead.
Cleveland put two runners on in the bottom half, but Verlander got Santana to bounce into a double play and retired Hafner on a broken-bat groundout with a runner on third.
McAllister worked 6 1-3 innings despite making 30 pitches in the first inning. The right-hander gave up two earned runs and eight hits. He has a 2.56 ERA in five starts in July.
NOTES: Rain delayed the start 26 minutes. ... Indians RHP Roberto Hernandez made 66 pitches over five innings in a rehab start at Class A Lake County. It was his first game since being suspended three weeks until Aug. 11 for playing since 2000 under the false name of Fausto Carmona. ... The Tigers open a three-game series Friday in Toronto. Detroit's Rick Porcello faces Carlos Villanueva in a matchup of right-handers. ... Cleveland goes to Minnesota for three games. Right-handers Josh Tomlin and Scott Diamond of the Twins start the opener. ... The Tigers outrighted LHP Kelvin De La Cruz to Double-A Erie. The former Indians farmhand was designated for assignment Monday. ... Detroit went 6 for 32 (.188) with runners in scoring position in the series.
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