Tigers Fall To Indians 7-5
By STEVE HERRICK/Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) - Michael Brantley homered twice, including a tiebreaking two-run drive in the eighth inning Thursday night, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers 7-5 to gain ground in the AL wild-card race.
With the score 5-5, Francisco Lindor walked on a 3-2 pitch with two outs against Blaine Hardy (4-3), and Brantley homered into the right-field seats.
Cody Allen (2-4) pitched 1 2-3 innings and struck out AL hitting leader Miguel Cabrera to end the game.
With their sixth straight home win, the Indians closed within four games of Texas for the AL's second wild card. Minnesota and the Los Angeles Angels are between the Rangers and Indians in the wild-card race.
Detroit tied the game in the eighth on Nick Castellanos' RBI double off Bryan Shaw and Andrew Romine's single against Allen.
Cleveland benefited from two overturned calls at the plate that negated Detroit runs. The second came after the Tigers had appeared to take a 4-3 lead in the seventh on Ian Kinsler's single.
Indians right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall had three assists, throwing out two runners at the plate. He became the first outfielder with three assists in a game since Kansas City's Mark Teahen in 2007.
With the Indians leading 3-2 and runners on second and third in the seventh, Kinsler lined a single to right off for his 1,500th hit. Romine scored amd plate umpire Ed Hickcox ruled Anthony Gose beat Chisenhall's throw home.
Indians manager Terry Francona challenged the call, which was overturned after video review. An apparent Detroit run in the second was also taken away after a review.
Gose's second-inning single gave Detroit the lead, but Abraham Almonte's fourth-inning homer tied the score. Giovanny Urshela's two-run double put Cleveland ahead in the sixth.
Detroit starter Alfredo Simon allowed five runs, five hits and three walks in 6 2-3 innings. Danny Salazar gave up three runs, seven hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Indians: RHP Corey Kluber (strained right hamstring) is scheduled for a bullpen session Friday. Kluber, last season's AL Cy Young Award winner, played catch and did agility drills Thursday. He has not pitched since Aug. 29.
Tigers: All-Star SS Jose Iglesias (broken right middle finger) did not travel with the team on its seven-game trip to Cleveland and Minnesota. He will be re-evaluated in Detroit on Sept. 17.
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Justin Verlander makes his 24th career start in Cleveland, where he is 9-12 with a 5.35 ERA. He is 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA against the Indians this year.
Indians: RHP Cody Anderson pitches against Detroit for the second time this month. The rookie threw seven scoreless innings and earned a 4-0 victory at Comerica Park on Sept. 6.
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