CLEVELAND — Grady Sizemore has put together a fine season for the Indians, but Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera are the team’s best batters right now.
Choo and Cabrera continued their torrid late-season work on Saturday night with two hits and two RBI apiece, leading the Tribe to a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
The entertaining win evened Cleveland’s record at 77-77 and put it at .500 for the first time since May 18. It also, thankfully, was played without incident one evening after the teams brawled on the infield.
“Choo got a big hit and so did Cabrera, which really helped us out,†said Indians pitcher Jeremy Sowers, who went six solid innings to get the victory. “It was important, confidence-wise, to get back to .500. Obviously, the next eight games will be very important to see how well we finish up.â€
As long as Choo and Cabrera keep doing their thing, the Tribe should be just fine.
Left fielder Choo, who had two singles and two walks in five trips to the plate, provided the first big hit of the game in the fourth inning. He smacked a two-out laser just under the glove of Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco, driving home Ryan Garko and Grady Sizemore to push Cleveland’s lead to 4-1.
“Every time, I’m just trying to help the team whatever way possible,†said Choo, who is hitting .448 with 17 RBI in 18 September games. “Whenever there’s a runner on, I try my best to bring him home.â€
After Detroit cut its deficit to 4-3 in the top of the seventh, Cabrera came through in the bottom of the frame with a hard-hit single past Tigers shortstop Edgar Renteria. The two-out rip came off reliever Bobby Seay, and scored Kelly Shoppach and Franklin Gutierrez.
Second baseman Cabrera, the current American League co-Player of the Week, is batting .407 with 17 RBI this month. He went 2-for-4.
“Asdrubal had a good at-bat after they turned him around (to swing right-handed) with the pitching change,†Tribe manager Eric Wedge said. “He made some adjustments and kept at it.â€
Sowers (4-8, 5.48 ERA) flirted with danger early, putting six Tigers on base in the first three frames, but only allowed one run. The left-hander’s final three innings were much better as Detroit finished with just five hits and one run off him.
“It’s just a matter of getting ahead of the hitters,†said Sowers, who walked two and struck out three. “Every (pitch) has been working at some point, but I’d like to be more consistent.â€
The loss went to Detroit righty Justin Verlander (10-17, 4.87 ERA), who had little control in losing for the 10th time in 15 career starts against the Indians. In four innings, he allowed five runs, threw three wild pitches, fired another ball high off the backstop, had a run-scoring balk and drilled Jamey Carroll in the back with a pitch.
Tigers designated hitter Gary Sheffield — still steaming before the game about his fist-fight with Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona — was lustily booed before each of his four at-bats. He had a single and double, but was stranded both times in a 2-for-4 performance.
“It was good we were able to go out and just play baseball tonight,†Wedge said. “When Jamey got hit early on, I’m not quite sure what that was about.â€
Both teams scored in the first inning on RBI groundouts. Detroit’s came when Magglio Ordonez brought home Polanco, while Cleveland made it 1-1 when Jhonny Peralta drove in Carroll. The Tribe took the lead in the second on a two-out balk by Verlander to score Shoppach.
It remained that way until the seventh when Wedge went to his bullpen, which promptly reduced the Indians’ lead to 4-3. Rafael Betancourt allowed a two-out single to Dusty Ryan and was replaced by Rafael Perez, who gave up a two-run homer to Curtis Granderson.
Brendan Donnelly tossed an uneventful eighth for the Wahoos, setting up Jensen Lewis to earn his 11th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
“It’s a hell of an accomplishment for this ballclub to get to .500 considering where we were,†Wedge said. “It shows how much fire they have.â€
Dulik may be reached at 330-721-4059 or brisports@hotmail.com
