The Detroit Tigers seem to have finally shaken off their troubles against the Cleveland Indians. After Justin Verlander nailed them for a 4-0 shutout on Friday, they pulled out a 5-3 victory to go up 2-0 in their final series this season, with game three being on Sunday.
Anibal Sanchez made the start for the Tigers and picked up the win, and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. At that point, he was promptly nailed for a triple by Carlos Santana, and then gave up a double to Russ Canzler, which brought Santana home. A Lonnie Chisenhall single brought Canzler home, and Sanchez's night was over.
Asdrubal Cabrera singled in the eighth to score Cord Phelps, but that was all the scoring Cleveland could muster. Detroit already had their five runs by the time Cleveland had started that seventh-inning ralley. Justin Masterson was shelled for five runs (three earned) and lasted into the fifth inning. Catcher Alex Avila had two RBIs off of three hits on the day, while Miguel Cabrera and Austin Jackson added the other two scores for the Tigers.
With the win, Detroit remains one game back of the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead. Chicago bested the Minnesota Twins earlier on Saturday to maintain their lead, and the two teams are set to meet on Monday to play series finale that was postponed prior to the present series. But first, the Tigers have the Indians again at 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Head over to Bless You Boys for more Tigers coverage, and check out Baseball Nation for even more news from around the league. Check out Let's Go Tribe for some more info on the Indians.