'Magic,' homers save the Indians

Like Houdini, pitcher Kevin Millwood wiggled out of two jams to help Tribe win.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- As if waving some magic wand, Kevin Millwood makes the most frightening situations disappear.
One instant, the bases are loaded. The next, it's presto-chango, abracadabra and alakazam -- inning over for the Cleveland Indians. Another head-scratching escape.
"It was like, 'Did I just see that?' Detroit manager Alan Trammell said. "We've got the bases loaded and we're all excited. Seconds later ... wow!"
Millwood kept it close for five nerve-racking innings before Aaron Boone hit a two-run homer and Casey Blake and Coco Crisp hit solo shots as the Indians kept the pressure on in the AL wild card scramble with a 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers Thursday.
Boone's homer off Nate Robertson (6-13) tied it at 2 in the fifth inning before Blake and Crisp connected in the sixth. Cleveland's last 15 runs have all come via homers.
The Indians have won four in a row and 12 of their last 14.
"We're playing as good as anyone right now," Millwood said.
Millwood holds on
Cleveland's three homers -- the Indians have 31 in their last 16 games -- wouldn't have meant anything, though, if not for Millwood's tenacity. The right-hander made two Houdini-like escapes, wiggling out of jams in the first and third innings when the Tigers had a chance to blow it open.
Millwood's knack for dodging trouble is nothing new, with opponents 0-for-16 against him with the bases full. He allowed one earned run and seven hits while throwing 110 pitches in five innings.
"It's nothing like I've ever seen," Indians manager Eric Wedge said of Millwood's ability to elude danger. "He throws 60 pitches in the first couple innings and did nothing but get much stronger. He's tough. It wasn't like it was just today, either, he's been doing that all year."
Millwood would obviously prefer more 1-2-3 innings, but they've been rare for him this season.
"It hasn't been easy," said Millwood, who has the lowest run support (3.23 runs in 26 starts) in the AL. "But I've been able to keep us in the game and give us a chance to win, that's a starter's job."
Wickman gets 37th save
Rafael Betancourt (3-3) pitched 12/3 scoreless innings, and Bob Howry struck out Brandon Inge with the bases loaded to end the seventh. Bob Wickman pitched the ninth for his 37th save, matching his career-high set with Milwaukee in 1999.
Robertson puzzled the Indians for the first four innings, holding them without a hit until Ronnie Belliard's one-out blooper to left-center fell in front of diving outfielders Dmitri Young and Curtis Granderson for a double. One out later, Boone lined a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left for his 14th homer to tie it at 2.
Blake led off the sixth with his 20th homer to give the Indians a 3-2 lead. With one out, Crisp hit his 12th.