Indians 3, Tigers 2: Aaron Cunningham's squeeze bunt plated pinch runner Lou Marson to snap a tie in the seventh inning as host Cleveland moved back over .500 after defeating Detroit for the sixth time in seven meetings.
Carlos Santana both drove in and scored a run and Johnny Damon added an RBI single for the Indians (49-48), who have won two straight after dropping four of their previous five.
After Miguel Cabrera belted a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the seventh, Cleveland answered in the bottom of the frame.
Travis Hafner deposited a shot to left-center field off Doug Fister (4-7) for a one-out triple. After Marson replaced Hafner, Cunningham promptly brought him home with a well-executed squeeze bunt. Fister was able to get off the mound in a hurry, but his throw found its way past catcher Alex Avila as Marson gave the Indians a 3-2 lead.
Although he allowed Cabrera's blast, Joe Smith (6-2) picked up the victory after logging one inning of work. Vinnie Pestano worked a scoreless eighth before Chris Perez retired the side in the ninth for his 28th save.
Austin Jackson collected a pair of hits for the Tigers, who saw their five-game winning streak come to an end with their third loss in 16 games.
Fister yielded three runs on nine hits in seven innings to take the loss.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cleveland acquired utility player Brent Lillibridge from Boston for minor league RHP Jose De La Torre. To make room on the roster, the Indians transferred 3B Lonnie Chisenhall from the 15-day to 60-day disabled list. Chisenhall is nursing a broken right forearm. ... Starter Ubaldo Jimenez tossed six scoreless innings and was in position to defeat Detroit for the third time in two months before Cabrera's homer in the seventh.
Detroit | Cleveland | |
Doug Fister | Player | Ubaldo Jimenez |
Loss | W/L | No Decision |
7.0 | IP | 6.0 |
4 | Strikeouts | 4 |
9 | Hits | 7 |
3.86 | ERA | 0.00 |
Detroit | Cleveland | |
Delmon Young | Player | Asdrubal Cabrera |
2 | Hits | 3 |
0 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
2 | TB | 4 |
.500 | Avg | .750 |