Rogers stops slide by Detroit

Monday, August 28, 2006 In Cleveland's 7-1 loss, Cliff Lee yielded his team-high 25th homer. CLEVELAND (AP) — Kenny Rogers knew the situation and stepped up. Rogers put on a pitching performance that Detroit desperately needed and the Tigers backed him with four home runs, beating the Cleveland Indians 7-1 Sunday and ending a four-game losing streak. "I wanted to be the guy to stop it," Rogers said. "That's for sure." Curtis Granderson led off the game with a homer and Marcus Thames, Carlos Guillen and Ivan Rodriguez later connected as the Tigers averted a four-game sweep. They won for only the sixth time in 19 games since Aug. 7 — when they held a 10-game lead in the AL Central. Manager's calm Manager Jim Leyland said that's no reason to alter his patient approach. "I told the team what they saw today is why I haven't been ranting and raving," Leyland said. "We're not going to panic. "What's been happening to us is what happens to every team in baseball. It's noticed more because we're in a pennant race. We're not going to have meetings or all this urgency. It doesn't work that way." Cleveland had won four in a row overall and eight straight at home. Detroit, with the best record in the majors, has a five-game division lead over Minnesota. After an off-day, the Tigers start a three-game series against New York at Yankee Stadium. That doesn't seem to faze Leyland, either. "Either we're good enough or we're not," he said. "You have to keep playing. If it's good enough, we'll still be playing in October. If not, we'll go home. We'll find out." Rogers (14-6) won his third straight start, allowing one run and four hits in seven innings. Mound mentality "Every pitcher knows how much the games mean when you go out there," he said. "This took on added importance with the way we've been playing. I know it's important, but it doesn't make me pitch good." Rogers struck out three and walked three. The lefty has yielded only three runs over 19 innings during his win streak. The 41-year-old All-Star had been 0-3 with a 6.37 ERA in six second-half starts before topping Texas on Aug. 17 and pitching seven scoreless innings in a win over the White Sox five days later. The Tigers are 20-7 overall in games started by Rogers this season. Granderson hit the third pitch of the game from Cliff Lee (10-10) over the wall in right-center for his 13th homer. The rookie came in hitting only .132 (19-for-76) in 23 games in August. Consecutive one-out singles by Jason Michaels, Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez in the bottom half tied it at 1. Rogers allowed only one hit and three walks over the next 62/3 innings. "I got into a groove after the first," Rogers said. "I don't think I made any adjustments. I just got into my pitching." Granderson doubled to open the third and one out later, Thames — hitting only .171 (12-for-70) over his previous 24 games — hit a 418-foot shot to center for his 23rd homer and 3-1 lead.