Recap: Cleveland vs. Detroit
Sports Network | September 21, 2008
Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Ryan Garko went 4-for-4 and drove in five runs to carry the Cleveland Indians to their sixth straight win, 10-5, over Detroit, completing a weekend sweep of the Tigers.
Victor Martinez had a pair of hits, recorded an RBI and scored three times in the 2008 home finale for the Indians, who beat the Tigers for a seventh straight time.
Scott Lewis (3-0) allowed eight hits and three runs over five innings to win for the third time in as many major league starts. Lewis, selected in the third round of the 2004 draft out of the Ohio State, also had six strikeouts and three walks.
The victory allowed the Indians to move above .500 (78-77) for the first time since May 17 (22-21).
Dontrelle Willis (0-2) was blistered for five hits and six runs over 2 1/3 innings. The lefty also walked six batters, as the Tigers lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
Edgar Renteria had three hits, including a homer, for Detroit. It was the culmination of a three-game set that featured a benches-clearing brawl Friday night.
Garko tripled with the bases loaded in the first inning before the Tigers got within 3-2. Renteria scored on a Brandon Inge double play grounder in the second, and Gary Sheffield singled in a run in the third.
The Indians blew it open though between the third and fifth innings. Willis walked Martinez, allowed a Garko single and threw a wild pitch to start the bottom of the third. Andy Marte then legged out an infield hit, with two runs scoring. Willis uncorked another wild pitch later in the inning, and Asdrubal Cabrera's single plate Marte for a 6-2 margin.
Martinez doubled in a run in the fourth, and Garko added a sacrifice fly later in the inning.
Renteria homered in the fifth, but Cabrera scored on a Ben Francisco double in the bottom half for a 9-3 margin.
Garko's double scored Martinez in the seventh before the Tigers added two runs in the ninth, as Curtis Granderson doubled in one and then scored on a Magglio Ordonez base hit.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland served the final contest of his three-game suspension...The Indians play at Boston on Monday to start a four-game series...The Tigers are in Kansas City on Monday to open a three-game set...Detroit finished 34-46 on the road, while Cleveland was 45-36 at home. The Tigers have only 80 road games because one against the White Sox was postponed and not rescheduled, unless it has a bearing on Chicago making the playoffs...This was the third time this season that Garko has driven in at least five runs. He has a current 10-game hit streak.
