Tigers 5, Indians 1
Drew Smyly worked seven strong innings and Torii Hunter homered as Detroit salvaged the finale of a four-game series with visiting Cleveland.
Ian Kinsler added an RBI single and scored on Victor Martinez’s sacrifice fly for the Tigers, who snapped a four-game slide and increased their lead over the Indians to 5 1/2 games in the American League Central. Smyly (6-8) surrendered one run and four hits while striking out six to earn the win in back-to-back starts for the first time this season.
Yan Gomes ended the shutout bid with a solo home run in the seventh inning for Cleveland, which had a four-game winning streak come to an end. Josh Tomlin (5-7) lasted only 4 1/3 innings and was charged with four runs on six hits and a walk to fall to 1-5 in his last seven turns.
Detroit got started right away when Austin Jackson led off the game with a double and came in to score when Kinsler followed with a single to left. Kinsler, who took second on the throw home, moved to third on a flyout and came in on Martinez’s fly to right to make it 2-0.
Hunter followed a single by J.D. Martinez with a blast to left in the fourth and the Indians did not record a hit until Gomes’ two-out double in the fifth. Joba Chamberlain worked a scoreless eighth and Joe Nathan, who took the loss in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader, avoided a save situation thanks to Nick Castellanos’ RBI double in the eighth and pitched a perfect ninth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Jackson finished with two hits and has recorded multiple hits in six of the last seven games. … Detroit will open a seven-game road trip with an interleague series at Arizona on Monday while Cleveland will continue on to Minnesota before heading to Kansas City on its 11-game trip. … The Indians are expected to give RHP Danny Salazar another shot in the rotation by recalling him for a start on Tuesday.