Indians shut out Tigers for 9th straight victory
DETROIT -- The Indians tied their season high with their ninth straight win thanks to their second road doubleheader sweep in three days. Roberto Perez hit a solo homer as part of a three-RBI game, supporting six sparkling innings from Mike Clevinger as Cleveland rolled, 10-0, over the Tigers in
DETROIT -- The Indians tied their season high with their ninth straight win thanks to their second road doubleheader sweep in three days.
The Indians have outscored opponents by a 63-15 margin during their winning streak, and are 31-16 since the All-Star break. They moved within two games of the Astros for the best record in the American League and opened an eight-game cushion over the second-place Twins in the AL Central.
• Current standings
"It was all Indians in Game 2," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "Clevinger pitched well. Obviously we didn't pitch great, and that's really the story."
Clevinger (8-5) beat the Tigers for the third time in as many meetings this season, holding Detroit to three hits -- two of them
Cleveland manager Terry Francona was impressed with how Clevinger was able to keep the ball around the plate, and he gave catcher Perez praise in helping him do so on a night Clevinger was able to get a lot of run support.
"When we score early and spread it out, it's a good way to play," Francona said. "I know I'm stating the obvious, but when you're trying to give some guys part of the day off and you don't have to go to them, stay away from the bullpen, it just makes for a good day."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Early and often:
Perez tees off: Perez's home run jump-started the Indians' five-run sixth inning, during which they recorded seven hits and sent 10 men to the plate. His two-run single in the fourth inning extended his hitting streak to seven games, and he is now batting .435 with three homers and 12 RBIs during that stretch.
Francona acknowledged Perez and Urshela for their recent contributions in the lower part of the lineup.
"The bottom of the order did a really good job," Francona said. "So did the top, but those guys really came through for us. Gio [Urshela] had a good day swinging the bat." More >
QUOTABLE
"We've played a lot of baseball, but we were going to play a lot either way, so you might as well show up and play the game the right way and feel good about yourself. But I also think it shows we have some depth. We're playing a lot of people, and they're coming through and they're doing a good job." -- Francona, on the Indians playing two doubleheaders in three days
DEBUTS IN DETROIT
With September callups expanding active rosters across the Major Leagues on Friday, three players made their MLB debuts in this game. Indians catcher and top prospect
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"I would get used to getting young guys in the game for the next month, because that's basically what it's going to be," Ausmus said. "We're going to have a lot of young guys who are out there. There's going to be young guys, and young guys are obviously short on experience. Experience is a huge asset at the Major League level, so there's going to be some bumps."
Indians No. 8 prospect
Allen said he wasn't aware at the time that Labourt was making his debut, he was just happy to be in the moment and tried to slow it down as best he could.
"It was an awesome experience, one I'm very grateful for," Allen said. "I give all the glory and praise to God just to be able to be here and be in this moment. I tried to do the best to take it all in and still stay in the moment. Happy with the day and happy to be here."
WHAT'S NEXT
Indians:
Tigers:
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Jason Beck has covered the Tigers for MLB.com since 2002. Read Beck's Blog, follow him on Twitter @beckjason and Facebook.
Kyle Beery is a contributor to MLB.com based in Detroit and covered the Indians on Friday.