The Sports Xchange
Sep 1, 2017
DETROIT -- Roberto Perez homered and knocked in three runs to back the six strong innings by Mike Clevinger as the Cleveland Indians completed a doubleheader sweep of the punchless Detroit Tigers with a 10-0 victory Friday and matched their season-best nine-game winning streak.
Clevinger (8-5) allowed three hits, giving up two doubles to Andrew Romine plus a single to Ian Kinsler in his six-inning stint He struck out six and walked just one.
Dan Otero pitched the seventh, Kyle Crockett the eighth and Nick Goody the ninth for the Indians.
In Friday's opening game, Francisco Lindor poked a single up the middle through a drawn-in infield to scored Jay Bruce from third base with one out in the ninth inning for a 3-2 win. Bruce's pinch-hit triple to right center with one out off Detroit closer Shane Greene (3-3) made a winner out of Cody Allen (2-6).
Perez opened the five-run sixth in the nightcap with his fourth home run of the season, which came off reliever Blaine Hardy. His two-run single in the fourth gave the Indians a 4-0 lead. Erik Gonzalez also had an RBI single in the fourth.
Gonzalez singled one out after Perez's home run and Bradley Zimmer doubled him to third. Yandy Diaz singled in Gonzalez and Bruce hit a sacrifice fly to make it 8-0. Edwin Encarnacion had an RBI double and Carlos Santana an RBI single to finish the five-run inning.
Gonzalez had three hits in the game.
Giovanny Urshela got Cleveland off to 2-0 lead with a two-run double in the second off Buck Farmer (3-2), who pitched three-plus innings. Farmer faced four batters in the fourth, three of whom scored. Farmer allowed just three hits but he walked three and hit one and they all scored.
The Tigers, playing their first two games without the traded Justin Upton, had no player in the lineup with 20 or more home runs for either game.
NOTES: Only three of the starters for Detroit in Friday's second game had played as many as 100 games for the Tigers this season -- DH Ian Kinsler, 1B Miguel Cabrera and 3B Nicholas Castellanos. ... Indians manager Terry Francona started four players in both games of Friday's doubleheader (1B/DH Edwin Encarnacion, RF/1B Carlos Santana, DH/3B Yandy Diaz and 3B/SS Giovanny Urshela) but none at the same position. ... Heralded Indians rookie C Francisco Mejia is trying to add third base to his resume but Francona says he won't do so this month for Cleveland. ... LHP Chad Bell will start Sunday for Detroit in place of injured RHP Michael Fulmer, awaiting examination by Dr. James Andrews for the source of numbness in his pitching fingers. Fulmer will miss at least two turns.