Porcello On The Hill To Extend Tigers' Win Streak
CLEVELAND - The Detroit Tigers extended their winning streak to four despite having a run disallowed during their last game.
They haven't had much offense to spare for Rick Porcello of late.
Porcello takes the mound Sunday seeking his first win in over a month as the visiting Tigers try for a three-game sweep of the woeful Cleveland Indians.
Miguel Cabrera hit his 37th homer and Anibal Sanchez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning Saturday as Detroit (77-67) officially eliminated Cleveland (60-86) from playoff contention with a 5-3 victory. The Tigers had a run taken off the board in the fifth inning when it was ruled on appeal that Alex Avila didn't touch third base before crossing home.
The Tigers didn't gain any ground in the AL Central but did stay one game in back of first-place Chicago, which beat Minnesota 5-3 on Saturday.
"It is what it is," manager Jim Leyland said. "We're still playing for pretty big stakes, just as they are."
Batting .284 during its winning streak - including a .395 mark with runners in scoring position - Detroit now tries to keep things going for Porcello (9-12, 4.59 ERA).
Porcello enters Sunday having lost a career-worst six consecutive starts, a stretch during which the Tigers have provided him with an average of 1.06 runs of support.
