SportsDirect Inc. Ad
SportsDirect Inc. Ad
SportsDirect Inc. Ad
Major League Baseball
Detroit 9, Cleveland 2
When: 4:10 PM ET, Sunday, September 13, 2015
Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Temperature: 63°
Umpires: Home - Dana DeMuth, 1B - Mike Estabrook, 2B - Ed Hickox, 3B - Toby Basner
Attendance: 14487

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers finally got to play some baseball on Sunday, and they took turns beating up on each other. The teams had their games on Friday and Saturday night postponed by rain. Sunday the rain stayed away, and the teams stayed at Progressive Field for a long time.

The teams split a doubleheader that took a combined 7 hours and 12 minutes to play.

"In the first game we outplayed them and in the second game they outplayed us," said Cleveland manager Terry Francona.

Right fielder J.D. Martinez had three hits and three RBIs and Detroit got strong work from its bullpen as the Tigers beat the Indians 9-2 in the second game.

Cleveland won the first game 7-2 as rookie right-hander Cody Anderson (4-3) out-pitched veteran right-hander Justin Verlander (3-8). In the opener, the Indians' offense was led by first baseman Chris Johnson, who had three hits and two RBIs, and shortstop Francisco Lindor, who had two hits and two RBIs. With that win the Indians' record stood at 70-70, the first time they had been at the .500 mark since April 10, when they were 2-2.

But the loss in the second game of the doubleheader dropped the wild-card-chasing Indians below the .500 mark once again.

In the second game, Martinez had a two-run single in the third inning and an RBI double in the sixth as the Tigers pounded six Cleveland pitchers for 15 hits.

The Indians scored two runs on three hits in the first inning, then were held scoreless on two hits over the last eight innings by four Detroit pitchers.

Right-hander Drew VerHagen (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings of relief to pick up his first major league win in the nightcap.

"That's awesome for him, he's been throwing the heck out of the ball," said third baseman Nick Castellanos.

"Since we called him up (from Triple-A Toledo, on Sept. 4) he's done extremely well. Tonight he pitched some important innings for us," said Detroit manager Brad Ausmus.

Right-hander Trevor Bauer (11-12) took the loss, giving up six runs in three innings, after he was given a 2-0 first-inning lead.

"To not be able to protect that lead is frustrating," Bauer said. "Wins are at a premium for us now. I need to perform better for our team."

It was a short night for both starting pitchers. Bauer and Detroit left-hander Randy Wolf both pitched just three innings. Wolf's short outing was due to a high pitch count. He threw 50 pitches in the first inning and 93 after three innings, having given up two runs on four hits.

"What hurt him in the first inning was the foul balls. They kept fouling balls off," said Ausmus. Cleveland hitters fouled off 26 pitches in the first inning.

Bauer's early exit was due to his inability to stop the bleeding on a couple of Detroit rallies in the third and fourth innings. After retiring six of the first seven batters he faced in the first two innings Bauer allowed nine of the last 12 batters he faced to reach base. The first five batters Bauer faced in the fourth inning all reached base, which led to him being removed from the game.

"Most of it comes down to fastball command," said Francona.

Cleveland took a 2-0 lead in Wolf's marathon first inning, in which he gave up three hits and two walks, one with the bases loaded.

Martinez's two-out, two-run single in the third inning tied it at 2-2.

Detroit knocked Bauer out of the game with a four-run fourth inning. Castellanos led off with a single and he went to second on an infield single by catcher Alex Avila. Castellanos scored on a double by shortstop Dixon Machado, giving the Tigers a 3-2 lead.

Second baseman Andrew Romine drew a walk to load the bases, and center fielder Rajai Davis followed with a two-run single to stretch the Detroit lead to 5-2, sending Bauer to the showers.

"It wasn't pretty tonight, but we know (Bauer) can do it," Francona said.

Romine scored later in the inning when designated hitter Miguel Cabrera hit into a double play, as the Tigers' lead grew to 6-2. The Tigers scored single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh inning to turn the game into a blowout.

NOTES: Slumping Indians 2B Jason Kipnis did not start the second game of the doubleheader. Kipnis, who hit .323 in the first half of the season and was selected to the AL All-Star team, is hitting .189 (18-for-95) since Aug. 1. ... INF Chris Johnson is hitting .348 (16-for-46) since the Indians acquired him in a trade with Atlanta on Aug. 7. ... Tigers RHP Justin Verlander's loss in the first game of the doubleheader dropped his career record in 24 starts at Progressive Field to 9-13 with a 5.38 ERA. His 13 losses are the most by any opposing pitcher in Cleveland since 1960.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Detroit   Cleveland
Randy Wolf Player Trevor Bauer
No Decision W/L Loss
3.0 IP 3.0
3 Strikeouts 5
3 Hits 7
3.00 ERA 18.00
Hitting
Detroit   Cleveland
Nick Castellanos Player Mike Aviles
3 Hits 2
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
4 TB 2
.600 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Detroit 15 0 18 .375 23 8 8 5 0 1
Cleveland 4 0 4 .133 16 7 2 7 0 0