DETROIT -- The Indians came to Comerica Park dragging a woeful offense in need of a spark. On the game’s first swing, they found what they were looking for.

Leonys Martin smacked a leadoff shot to right field for the first of Cleveland’s four home runs in an 8-2 win over the Tigers on Tuesday. Brad Miller, Roberto Pérez and Jake Bauers also homered, all for the first time this season (as did Martin).

“It was nice to bounce right back,” said Indians manager Terry Francona, whose club entered the game with the lowest OPS in the American League (.535). “I know this is a big ballpark, but it was not playing that way today. The ball was flying.”

The four homers matched the team’s total through its first nine games, which ranked 29th of 30 teams in the Majors. The Tribe even added a Little League home run, when Eric Stamets circled the bases on a single in the seventh inning thanks to a fielding error by Tigers center fielder Mikie Mahtook.

Wind gusts played a factor in just one of the home runs, when Perez lifted a fifth-inning slider from Detroit starter Jordan Zimmermann high into the air toward left field. The ball had a 46-degree launch angle and just a .070 expected batting average, according to Statcast, but still found its way over the fence.

“Yeah, I thought I hit it out,” said Perez, who entered the game in a 1-for-17 slump. “The way the wind was playing today, just put the ball in the air.”

The team’s power surge was even sweeter considering it came against Zimmermann, who had allowed just seven hits and one run in his first two outings this year. But the veteran right-hander has struggled lately against the Indians, entering the game with a 9.87 ERA in his previous five starts against the divisional foe.

With Tuesday’s win, the Tribe leaped over the Tigers in the AL Central standings and took over first place for the first time in 2019.

Kluber continues tormenting Tigers
On Tuesday, Francona finally recognized his ace on the mound. Corey Kluber, who was coming off a start that saw him allow six runs (four earned) against the White Sox, turned in a strong outing with just two runs (one earned) allowed in six innings.

“I just thought he looked more like Kluber,” Francona said. “Stayed in his delivery … late movement.”

Kluber found himself in trouble on a few occasions, but he managed to strand seven baserunners while striking out seven and walking just one. His cutter was particularly effective, garnering eight swinging strikes on 28 pitches.

Some of Kluber’s highest-leverage situations came against Tigers rookie Christin Stewart, whom he’d never faced. Stewart came up against Kluber with runners on the corners in the first inning, the bases loaded in the third and a runner on third in the fifth. Kluber dispatched Stewart, one of Detroit’s more aggressive hitters, with a popout, flyout and lineout, respectively. The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner said he took advantage of the young Tigers lineup’s aggressiveness.

“I think I expect that aggressiveness at this point in time, just because that’s the way teams have attacked me for so long,” Kluber said. “So I don’t think I’m caught off guard by it. You expect it and at that point in time, it puts a little more emphasis on executing pitches early on in the count.”

In his past six starts against the Tigers, dating back to 2017, Kluber is 6-0 with a 0.97 ERA and 49 strikeouts.