Recap: Cleveland vs. Detroit
Sports Network | September 20, 2008
Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera each knocked in a pair of runs and Jeremy Sowers pitched six solid innings, as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Detroit Tigers, 6-3, in the second of a three- game series at Progressive Field.
Choo finished 2-for-3 with two walks and Grady Sizemore added a pair of hits, including a double and a run scored for the Indians, who have won five straight games.
Sowers (4-8) earned the win after allowing one run on five hits, while fanning three and walking a pair. He improved to 2-3 in five career starts against Detroit. Jensen Lewis recorded his 11th save of the season.
Curtis Granderson had a two-run homer and Magglio Ordonez drove in a run for Detroit, which has dropped eight of its last nine.
Justin Verlander (10-17) suffered the loss after being touched for four runs on five hits in four innings of work. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out four and walked four and fell to 1-5 versus Cleveland this season and 4-10 over his career.
Detroit got on the board in the top of the first on a run-scoring grounder by Ordonez, but a Jhonny Peralta ground out to short in the home half quickly tied the game.
A balk by Verlander in the bottom of the second brought home Kelly Shoppach, who led off the inning with a double, giving the Indians a 2-1 lead.
With the bases loaded and two down in the home fourth, Choo's two-run single just out of the reach of a diving Placido Polanco at second base gave the Tribe a three-run cushion.
Cleveland had a chance to break the game open in the sixth, but with the bases loaded and one out, Peralta grounded into a 4-3 twin-killing.
Granderson's two-run homer in the top of the sixth on a 3-2 fastball to center made it a 4-3 game. But a two-run single by Cabrera in the home half put the Indians back in front by a three-run margin.
Lewis was brought in for the ninth and gave up a one-out double to Jeff Larish before retiring Granderson. The hard-throwing righty then walked Polanco but got Ordonez to ground out to the mound to end the game.
Dontrelle Willis (0-2) will get the start for Detroit in tomorrow's series finale, while Scott Lewis (2-0) takes the hill for the Indians...Tigers manager Jim Leyland was serving the second of a three-game suspension by Major League Baseball for inappropriate conduct during the September 15th and 16th contests against Texas. Hitting coach Lloyd McClendon is managing the club in Leyland's absence...Cleveland has a 10-7 edge on the Tigers in this year's season series and has taken five of its eight meetings with Detroit at Progressive Field in 2008.
