Vizquel steals a win for Indians

He stole home with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of Cleveland's 5-2 victory over Detroit.
DETROIT (AP) -- Cleveland Indians rookie Ben Broussard had the best hitting day of his career, and might have helped his team just as much with his acting skills.
Broussard's poker face at the plate helped teammate Omar Vizquel steal home in the eighth inning to break 2-all tie, and he followed with a two-run triple to help the Indians to a 5-2 win Tuesday night.
"I saw Omar coming home, and I didn't want to react and let the pitcher know what was happening," he said. "I waited until the very last second before getting out of the way."
Broussard also doubled and homered, driving in three runs.
Cleveland manager Eric Wedge was especially happy with the triple, coming against the left-handed Steve Avery. Broussard entered the game 0-for-7 against lefties.
"Benny really gave us a lift," Wedge said. "Not just the homer, but the big hit in the eighth to give us some breathing space. I know he hasn't played much against left-handers, but he has been making progress and I want to see what he could do."
Talk of the game
After the game, though, everyone was talking about Vizquel's play. With the bases loaded and two out, the veteran realized that Avery wasn't paying any attention to him. With the left-hander's back turned, Vizquel was almost to the plate before Avery even reacted.
"I was on third base, and he never looked at me once on the first four pitches," Vizquel said. "Even when I took off, everyone was yelling at him, but he just froze. He kept looking at Ellis Burks on second like he thought he was going to try to steal third or something."
Avery said he had never seen the play in 15 years of professional ball, but that didn't mollify Tigers manager Alan Trammell.
"Looking back on it, Steve looked back at second base on every pitch, and that's not what you want to be doing," he said. "We all feel like we deserve some of the blame -- the coaching staff and even some of the players.
"Omar is a very smart player who schooled us with a heads-up play. It was definitely the play of the game."
Previous feat
Vizquel also had Cleveland's previous straight steal of home in Sept. 2000, and Wedge gave him all the credit.
"I can't take any credit for that -- that was all Omar," he said. "He has a tremendous feel for the game, and he noticed that Avery wasn't paying attention to him. We saw it too, and we were just hoping Omar saw the same thing."
Both teams lost players to injury during the game. Cleveland starter Jason Bere left after one inning with stiffness in his pitching shoulder, while Tigers first baseman Carlos Pena strained a calf muscle running out a grounder in the third.
Bere, who started the season on the disabled list with shoulder problems, was making just his second start of the year. He is expected to go back on the disabled list.
"This feels the same way as when I hurt it the first time," he said. "This is way beyond simple discomfort."