Detroit 8, Cleveland 1
When: 1:08 PM ET, Sunday, June 14, 2015
Where: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
Temperature:
74°
Umpires:
Home -
Joe West, 1B -
Chris Segal, 2B -
Kerwin Danley, 3B -
Rob Drake
Attendance:
36994
By The Sports Xchange
DETROIT -- The last person who wants to talk about Miguel Cabrera's home runs is Miguel Cabrera.
"We won," Cabrera said Sunday after hitting another baseball into the second tier wall beyond center field at Comerica Park. "It was a long game. We're happy to get out of it with a win."
Right fielder J.D. Martinez broke the game open with a three-run homer in the sixth after Cabrera's second blast to center in three games, and the Detroit Tigers earned a rain-prolonged 8-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
Play was stopped after five complete innings due to a heavy rain before resuming one hour, 51 minutes later.
"It doesn't matter how far you hit them," Cabrera said. "We won, that's what's important."
Cabrera is the consummate team player, and following Friday's three-blast, he avoided speaking to the media altogether -- solely because he does not like drawing attention to himself at the expense of his teammates.
"To hit a ball over the center field wall here," Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler said, "that's a feat I can't accomplish."
"He hits the ball farther than anyone I've ever seen," said Detroit left-hander Blaine Hardy, who atoned for taking the loss Saturday by retiring six in a row Sunday following a single by the first batter he faced after the rain delay.
How do you pitch to Cabrera?
"You're asking the wrong guy," said Cleveland starter Corey Kluber, who served up Cabrera's second 450-foot blast in three days. Cabrera is now hitting .571 off Kluber's offerings, including five home runs and 10 RBIs in 35 at-bats.
"He gave up a first-batter walk on four pitches, then a stolen base and a single," Indians manager Terry Francona said of Kluber. "(Left fielder Michael) Brantley made a great catch on Cabrera, so we were able to get out of the first with just one run.
"Then in the fourth, (Cabrera) hits a first-pitch home run."
Cabrera's 14th home run hit just to the left of dead center field, against the second wall, about halfway between the flagpole and the television camera box he struck with his Friday night shot.
Both managers wrestled with the idea of bringing their starters back following the rain delay but decided the wait was too long. Tigers right-hander Alfredo Simon was at 75 pitches and Kluber at 69.
"We had him throw two sims (simulated innings), but that put him at about 100 pitches, and that was just too much," Francona said.
Right-hander Scott Atchison relieved Kluber (3-8) following the rain delay and issued a walk plus a single before Martinez went the other way on a hanging 1-2 curve for his 12th home run of the season. That boosted Detroit's lead to 5-0.
Designated hitter Tyler Collins hit into a force play with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth to make it 6-0, and catcher Bryan Holaday followed with a two-run double into the left field corner.
Simon (7-3) started for Detroit and pitched five innings of three-hit, scoreless ball before the hard rain fell. He walked one and struck out five.
Hardy followed and kept the shutout intact.
"It stinks when you don't do well and then might have to sit around for four or five days and think about it," Hardy said of his turnaround, which he attributed in large part to switching from cut fastballs to his curve. "To get right back out and especially against the same team, that was great."
Right-hander Alex Wilson relieved Hardy and survived his own one-out error plus a two-out single in pitching a scoreless eighth.
Right-hander Joakim Soria began and ninth, and it showed that he had not pitched since June 7. Soria allowed a solo home run to right fielder Brandon Moss, his 11th, plus two other hits in the ninth and was relieved by lefty Tom Gorzelanny for the last out.
Detroit scored in the first when center fielder Anthony Gose walked,
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Cleveland |
|
Detroit |
Corey Kluber
|
Player |
Alfredo Simon |
Loss |
W/L |
Win |
5.0 |
IP |
5.0 |
2 |
Strikeouts |
5 |
4 |
Hits |
3 |
3.60 |
ERA |
0.00 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Cleveland
|
8 |
1 |
11 |
.235 |
17 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Detroit
|
10 |
2 |
17 |
.303 |
10 |
5 |
8 |
2 |
1 |
2 |