Tigers 7, Indians 2
DETROIT -- Victor Martinez doubled twice and drove in two runs and the Detroit Tigers extended their American League Central lead to 7 1/2 games with a 7-2 rain-shortened victory over the second-place Cleveland Indians on Friday night at Comerica Park.
The game was called after seven innings following a one-hour, nine-minute rain delay.
Rick Porcello (11-7) gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings for his seventh win in his last eight decisions. Bruce Rondon collected his first career save.
Andy Dirks added two hits and scored twice for Detroit, which is 14-3 against Cleveland this season.
Nick Swisher doubled twice and scored a run for the Indians, who have lost four straight. Starter Zach McAllister (7-8) lasted just 3 2/3 innings while surrendering five runs and six hits.
Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera started but was removed after the second inning with abdominal irritation. He left Thursday's game against Oakland in the fifth inning with abdominal discomfort after getting thrown out at second base. Cabrera has been battling abdominal, hip and groin injuries in recent weeks.
Michael Bourn's inability to find a Martinez fly ball helped the Tigers score four third-inning runs and take a 5-1 lead. Austin Jackson's RBI single had already given Detroit a 2-1 lead before Martinez hit a long fly to center with the bases loaded and one out. Bourn moved to his left and spread out his arms helplessly as the ball landed well over his head near the warning track.
That allowed two runs to score and the Tigers added another on Alex Avila's groundout.
The teams traded runs in the second, with Cleveland scoring on Asdrubal Cabrera's double play grounder and Detroit answering with Don Kelly's sacrifice fly.
NOTES: Tigers manager Jim Leyland said before the game that he's not risking Cabrera's health by playing him despite his various injuries. "The only thing he can't do is run," he said. "He can still catch the ball at third, he can still throw hard, he can still get hits, he can still drive in runs. He's handicapped a little bit physically, but nobody in the organization would risk hurting the guy long term if he didn't feel he was ready to play." ... Detroit's four-run, ninth-inning rally for a 7-6 victory over the A's on Thursday was just the third time in major-league history a team had a two-out walkoff homer to prevent a series sweep of four or more games. Torii Hunter's three-run homer completed the comeback. "That will go down as one of my favorite wins of all time," Leyland said. ... Cleveland acquired OF Jason Kubel from Arizona for a player to be named. Kubel, 31, was hitting just .220 with five home runs and 32 RBIs after hitting 30 homers for the Diamondbacks last season. "It's an added left-handed bat," manager Terry Francona said. "I can't tell you when he's going to play. We've got to see how healthy he is." ... Francona held a short team meeting before the game to boost his struggling club's spirits. "I just want to make sure we go through this last month with no regrets," he said.
